Dozens of abducted schoolchildren and teachers rescued in Nigeria

The hostages were taken from three separate schools in the southwestern state of Oyo in May.

Two months after they were abducted in southwestern Nigeria, dozens of students and teachers have been rescued, the presidency says.

In a statement on Friday, President Bola Tinubu said he was “profoundly happy” that Nigeria’s security agencies had rescued the students and teachers, 56 days after they were kidnapped from three schools in the southwestern state of Oyo.

Eight of the assailants have been arrested and an unspecified number have been killed, Tinubu added.

On May 15, 46 students and staff were kidnapped from two primary schools and one secondary school. The government has blamed the kidnappings on Boko Haram.

The youngest child taken was aged two, while the oldest was 16. One of the teachers was killed shortly after the abduction.

In a post on X, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said all of the students and teachers had been rescued.

School kidnappings have become common in Nigeria, as armed groups seek large ransoms from the government and citizens.

The situation has been worsened by a security crisis, partly fuelled by the Boko Haram rebellion in the country’s northeast. In 2024, gunmen earned more than $1.6m in ransom payments, according to SBM Intelligence.

“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 his statement.

“On behalf of the country, I express my gratitude to the officers and men of our armed forces, the intelligence agencies and the police for the safe rescue of the children and their teachers.”

Prior to the May 15 attack, the majority of school kidnappings had taken place in northern Nigeria. The abductions in Oyo, in the southwest, have prompted concerns that the security crisis could be worsening.

It is not clear exactly how the students and staff were rescued, but Onanuga said there “was no quid pro quo in the rescue”.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Christopher Musa said the assailants planned to use the hostages as leverage to pressure the government to release some of their commanders from prison.