ABUJA, Nigeria — Students who were taken captive by Muslim militants in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state have been freed, the country’s government announced Friday.
Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not provide an exact count of how many students were rescued. However, when the kidnappings occurred on May 15, authorities reported that more than 40 people had been taken. One teacher who was abducted along with the students was killed shortly after the incident.
Onanuga said eight militants were taken into custody during the rescue operation, and an undisclosed number of additional militants were killed in the process.
The kidnappings drew widespread attention in part because they took place in a southern state — a significant shift from the country’s usual pattern, as most such abductions had previously occurred in Nigeria’s northern regions.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu released a statement praising the effort, saying: “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.”
During the same week as the Oyo abductions, dozens of children were also kidnapped in Borno, which is considered the center of Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis.
School abductions have become a recurring problem across Nigeria, where armed militant groups frequently target educational institutions as a way to pressure the government and demand ransom payments.
