The Nigerian military rescued 46 children who had been abducted by Islamist militants, Nigeria’s government said on Friday.
The abductions occurred some two months ago at three schools in the town of Orire in southwestern Oyo state.
The raid on schools in the agrarian communities of Esiele and Yawota became a critical social issue and sparked protests and a monthlong statewide teachers’ strike.
“I am profoundly happy that our security forces successfully rescued the abducted pupils and teachers from Orire, Ogbomoso in Oyo State today after a military, police and intelligence-driven operation that neutralized some of the terrorists that perpetrated the evil act and the arrest of eight of them,” President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.
Tinubu said that no “concession” was made to militants and no ransom was paid.
He attributed the abductions to the Ansaru militant group, which is an offshoot of Boko Haram.
A Nigerian government spokesperson said several militants were killed and eight were arrested in the operation to rescue the students.
Oyo officials said one teacher was killed in captivity.
One teacher was killed during the initial raid that led to the abductions, Nigerian media reported.
What is the security situation in Nigeria?
Militant groups and gangs in Nigeria have stepped up abductions for ransom in recent years, commonly targeting schools.
Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde said, “Our priority now is to ensure they are reunited with their families.”
More than 40 other children — some as young as 2 — were taken from their schools in northeast Borno state on the same day as the Oyo kidnapping. They are still in captivity.
Such attacks are more common in the north than in the southwest of the country.
The most notorious mass abduction in Nigeria occurred in April 2014, when the Boko Haram Islamist militant group kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok in the northeast. Around 90 girls are still missing.
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
