President Bola Tinubu on Monday welcomed the release of the 24 schoolgirls abducted last week from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said the terrorists attacked the school at dawn on November 17, seizing the students shortly after a military detachment had departed the premises. The incident sparked copycat kidnappings in Eruku, Kwara State, and Papiri, Niger State.
All 38 victims abducted in Eruku were freed on Sunday, while the Niger State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria reported that 50 of the missing students from St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, have been found in their parents’ homes.
President Tinubu commended security agencies for their efforts in securing the release of the abducted persons and urged them to intensify operations to rescue those still in captivity.
“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. Now, we must, as a matter of urgency, put more boots on the ground in vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping. My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this,” the President said.
