In brief
A group of 24 Nigerian girls has been released after being abducted from their boarding school on November 17. This incident emphasizes the alarming trend of school kidnappings in Nigeria, raising concerns over security and the government's response to such incidents. President Bola Tinubu acknowledged the release but also noted that the circumstances remain vague as the country grapples with increasing abductions of children in educational institutions.
A group of 24 Nigerian girls who were abducted from their boarding school over a week ago have been released, the country's president said. Armed assailants stormed the school in Nigeria's Kebbi State on 17 November, killing two members of staff and abducting about 25 students. Two were able to escape soon after.Nigerian President Bola Tinubu praised security forces for their 'swift response' to the incident - although the circumstances of the girls' release remained unclear. Africa's most populous nation has suffered a spate of abductions in recent years - with more than 250 children abducted from a Catholic school last Friday still missing.In a statement, a special adviser to the president confirmed that all the girls taken from the school in Kebbi State had been accounted for, saying that the raid had triggered copycat kidnappings in two neighbouring Nigerian states.Tinubu indicated that more personnel would be deployed to 'vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping.' The president also stated in a separate post that the Air Force is to maintain continuous surveillance over remote areas to identify and neutralize hostile elements.Since 2014, over 1,500 children have been abducted from Nigerian schools, spotlighting a worrying trend in national security and the safety of educational institutions. The latest incident is part of a broader pattern of insecurity affecting education in Nigeria, prompting calls for urgent action and deeper engagement from local and international communities to ensure safety in schools.
