FILE PHOTO: A view of metal beds in a hostel room after gunmen attacked a government girls' boarding school in Nigeria's Kebbi State on November 17, killing the vice principal and abducting 25 female students, according to police, Kebbi, Nigeria, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on November 18, 2025. Africa Independent Television/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) -Twenty-four girls who were abducted from a government boarding school in northwestern Nigeria last week have been released, the state governor's media aide said on Tuesday.
The girls were seized on November 17 when armed men stormed their school in Kebbi state shortly after a military detachment left the premises. The attack triggered a wave of copycat kidnappings in Kwara and Niger states, authorities said.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday welcomed the girls' release and called on security forces to intensify efforts to free others still held captive.
"I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. 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," Tinubu said.
Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs target schools and rural communities, often overwhelming local security forces.
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi; Writing by Chijioke OhuochaEditing by Gareth Jones and Cynthia Osterman)
