President Bola Tinubu has expressed relief over the release of the 24 schoolgirls abducted in Maga, Kebbi State, on 17 November.
The schoolgirls, taken from Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, were rescued on Tuesday. They were seized at dawn on the same day a military detachment reportedly departed the school premises.
The Kebbi incident sparked similar abductions in Eruku, Kwara State, and Papiri in Niger State. All 38 victims kidnapped in Eruku regained their freedom on Sunday. That same day, the Niger State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced that 50 of the more than 300 students abducted from a Catholic school in the state had escaped from their captors.
In a statement on Tuesday, Tinubu applauded security agencies for the efforts that resulted in the release of the abducted victims. He urged them to intensify their operations to secure the remaining students still in captivity.
“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for,” Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, quoted Tinubu as saying.
“Now, we must put, as a matter of urgency, more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping. My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this.”