Twenty-four of the students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, have regained their freedom.
Security operatives on Tuesday confirmed the development to TheCable, noting that a formal statement from the authorities was expected later in the night.
Details surrounding the rescue operation were still emerging at press time.
The students were seized on November 17 when bandits invaded the school, killing an official and injuring a security guard before escaping with 25 girls.
According to a BBC report, “two of the girls escaped from their captors.” Quoting Hussaini Aliyu, an official from Danko Wasagu LGA, the BBC added that “the two students ran away as they were being led into the bushes by the bandits and escaped across farmland.”
Two days after the incident, Hussaini Aliyu, chairman of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, released the names of the 25 abducted schoolgirls.
The list, sighted by TheCable, was arranged according to class categories.
In the wake of the attack, the Commissioner of Police in Kebbi State, Bello Sani, said additional tactical teams—working alongside the military and local vigilantes—had been deployed to the area.
He explained that the joint team was combing suspected routes and adjourning forests in a coordinated hunt for the abductors.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Taoreed Lagbaja also directed troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA to intensify efforts, insisting they must leave no stone unturned in the mission to recover the students.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his part, ordered Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to move to Kebbi immediately to oversee the rescue efforts.
Tinubu mandated the minister “to monitor security efforts to secure the release of the abducted students.”