All 24 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls rescued after armed attack in Kebbi, president says

All 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by armed assailants from a school last week inNigeria’s Kebbi statehave been rescued, the country’s president announced Tuesday.

Gunmen with “sophisticated weapons” abducted the girls around 4 a.m.on Nov.17, police said at the time, and a statement Tuesday quoted President Bola Tinubu as saying that all 24 of the students who had been abducted were rescued. 

“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for,” the statement quoted Tinubu as saying.“Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping.”

No details were released about the rescue mission or about thegroup that kidnappedthe girls.

NIGERIAN CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 5 AMONG HUNDREDS KIDNAPPED, NUN SAYS

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu delivers a national address on the occasion of ‘October 1 Independence Day’ in Abuja, Nigeria on Oct.1, 2025.(Nigerian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Theattack in Kebbiwas among a spate of recent mass abductions in Nigeria.

Read More → Antifa violence exposes UC Berkeley’s hypocrisy on free speech and tolerance

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 aCatholic schoolFriday in north-central Niger state and abducted more than 300 students and staff. 

Read More → What is Evacuation Day?The forgotten holiday that predates Thanksgiving —and once eclipsed July 4

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS EFFORTS TO STOP CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA WITH AID THREAT

Read More → Fake ChatGPT apps are hijacking your phone without you knowing

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.

Read More → DHS says four House Democrats ‘chose to stand with criminal illegal aliens’after visiting ICE detainee

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)

onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.

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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.