All 24 schoolgirls abducted from Kebbi in Nigeria have been rescued, president says

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — All 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by armed assailants from a school last week in Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, the country’s president announced Tuesday.

The girls were abducted on Nov. 17, and police at the time had said 25 were taken, but a statement Tuesday quoted President Bola Tinubu as saying that all 24 of the students who had been abducted were rescued. No details were released about the rescue mission.

“I am relived that all the 24 girls gave 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,” the statement quoted Tinubu as saying.

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

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