In a significant development, all 24 schoolgirls who were kidnapped from a school in Nigeria’s Kebbi state last week have been successfully rescued, President Bola Tinubu announced on Tuesday.

According to police reports, the girls were seized by gunmen wielding “sophisticated weapons” in the early hours of November 17. President Tinubu confirmed in a statement that all of the abducted students have now been safely recovered.

“It is a great relief that all 24 girls are safe,” President Tinubu stated. “We must urgently increase security presence in vulnerable areas to prevent further kidnappings.”

Details surrounding the rescue operation and information about the kidnappers remain undisclosed at this time.

In a related note, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently addressed the nation on October 1st, marking Independence Day in Abuja, Nigeria. The image is provided courtesy of the Nigerian Presidency via Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.

The attack in Kebbi was among a spate of recent mass abductions in Nigeria.

A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom in Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, in northern Nigeria on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel / AFP via Getty Images)

Attackers raided a Catholic school Friday in north-central Niger state and abducted more than 300 students and staff. 

School officials said Sunday that 50 students, ages 10 to 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday. A total of 253 students and 12 teachers were still being held, they said.

This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)

Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S. claims.