Nigerian security forces have rescued dozens of schoolchildren and teachers abducted nearly two months ago, when gunmen attacked three schools in the southwestern state of Oyo, the West African nation’s authorities have confirmed.
The military, police, and intelligence agencies completed the operation on Friday, during which eight suspected militants were arrested and an unspecified number were killed, according to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular,” Tinubu said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the Nigerian Army said 44 students and teachers had been freed following an intelligence-led operation in the Old Oyo National Park and other parts of the country.
The military said multiple arrests disrupted the kidnappers’ leadership, informant network, hideouts, and supply routes, forcing the group to release the hostages unconditionally. It added that security personnel suffered casualties during the operation, but did not provide details.
Officials previously said 39 children and seven teachers were abducted from schools in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area on May 15. One teacher was later reported killed in captivity.
The gunmen reportedly entered the communities wearing military-style uniforms and took the captives into the Old Oyo National Park, a vast forest reserve extending toward neighboring Kwara State. The federal government later deployed a special rescue team and approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards in Oyo.
On Friday, President Tinubu vowed to “get justice for these children and their teachers and for the family of Mr. Oyedokun, who the terrorists gruesomely murdered.”
Africa’s most populous nation has experienced a surge in deadly attacks on military bases, churches, and schools in recent months, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. The authorities have blamed jihadist groups affiliated with Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), for the violence across the northeast, northwest, and central regions.
In Borno State alone, at least 76 students were abducted by armed groups in Askira-Uba Local Government Area between mid-May and June. Last month, suspected ISWAP militants kidnapped at least 36 students and a staff member from Government Day Secondary School in Lassa. On May 15, armed assailants also seized more than 40 students from the Primary and Junior Government Day Secondary School in the Mussa-Biri community, according to officials.