By Cross Udo and Seyi Odewale
President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the release of the 24 schoolgirls abducted by terrorists from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State last Monday.
Terrorists struck at the school at dawn on November 17 and abducted the girls, moments after a military detachment left the premises.
The Kebbi incident triggered some other copycat kidnappings in Eruku in Kwara State and Papiri in Niger State.
All 38 kidnapped victims in Eruku were freed on Sunday. The same day, the Niger State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria said 50 of the missing students of the Catholic School in Niger have been found in their parents’ homes.
President Tinubu applauded the security agents for all the efforts made to secure freedom for all the victims taken away by the terrorists.
He tasked the security agents to make more efforts to rescue the remaining students still being held captive.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, quoted Tinubu as saying, “I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for.
“Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping. My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this.”
In another development, at least 10 residents were abducted in a fresh bandit attack on Isapa community in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, deepening a week of coordinated assaults and mass kidnappings across North-Central and North-West Nigeria.
The gunmen, estimated by residents to be over 20 and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the community at about 6 pm on Monday, shooting sporadically as villagers fled into nearby bushes. A stray bullet struck an older woman during the raid.
Community sources said the attackers arrived with a herd of cattle and moved through several clusters of homes, pulling out residents and breaking doors.
Initial reports put the number of abducted persons at 11. They included toddlers, young children, nursing mothers and a pregnant woman, who were taken away.
Those abducted were identified as Talatu Kabiru (20), Magaji (6), Kande (5), Hadiza (10), Mariam (6), Saima (5), Habibat (housewife), Fatima Yusufu (pregnant), Sarah Sunday (22), Lami Fidelis (23, nursing mother), and Haja Na Allah (nursing mother).
Spent shells littered the area after the attack. Police authorities in Kwara had not issued an official response as of press time.
The raid occurred barely two weeks after 38 worshippers were kidnapped from the Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in neighbouring Eruku. All 38 were freed on Sunday.
But in a statement on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the command received distress calls around 6:30 pm on November 24 and immediately deployed patrol teams and tactical units to the area.
Ejire-Adeyemi said, “Preliminary investigations showed that the attackers invaded the community around 6:05 pm, firing repeatedly as they advanced through the settlement.
“A woman who sustained a gunshot wound to her leg had been treated and discharged. Further details from police operatives discovered that 10 persons were later abducted.”
In response to the severity of the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, visited Isapa for an on-the-spot assessment.
“During the visit, he met with traditional rulers, the Onisapa of Isapa Land, Oba Gbenga Adeyeye, and the Olokesa of Okesa Land, Oba Olu Olusegun, as well as local and youth leaders.
“The CP assured residents that the command had intensified operations to rescue the victims and restore confidence in the area,” the statement added.
The command disclosed that joint teams of police tactical units and local vigilantes were currently combing the surrounding bushes in search of the abducted residents.
“A search-and-rescue operation is ongoing, and normalcy has been restored to the village. The situation is under strict monitoring,” the police spokesperson said.
*Tinubu orders 24-Hour air and ground surveillance
In a separate directive, President Tinubu ordered a full security cordon around forests in Kwara, Niger and Kebbi States.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Sunday Dare, said on X that the President instructed the Nigerian Air Force to deploy round-the-clock aerial surveillance. At the same time, ground troops intensify their hold on vulnerable corridors linked to recent attacks.
The President urged community leaders to report suspicious movement promptly, saying the government intends to “deny terrorists every inch of safe passage.”
*Traumatised parents plead for release of Niger students still in captivity
In Niger State, parents of the schoolchildren and teachers still being held after the Papiri school abduction are pleading for urgent government intervention.
One father, Michael Ibrahim, whose four-year-old asthmatic son was taken, said his family had been shattered.
“My son is a small boy. He doesn’t even know how to talk,” he said, adding that his wife had been hospitalised from shock.
Another parent, Sunday Isaiku, wept openly as he appealed for help:
“I need my child back. If I had the power to bring him back myself, I would do it.”
Several of the abducted children are nursery-age. There has been no communication from the kidnappers for four days after the incident.
The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora is also appealing for government support.
Reverend Bulus Yohanna said, “All we want is to get our 265 students and pupils back. Please help us to reunite them with their parents.”
At least 50 children who fled into the bush during the attack have since returned home, leaving 265 confirmed missing.
*How DSS, military forced release of 38 Kwara worshippers- Presidency
The Presidency has also revealed details of how security agencies secured the release of the 38 CAC worshippers abducted in Eruku last week.
Onanuga said DSS operatives and military units deployed precision intelligence, real-time tracking, and controlled communication to pressure the kidnappers into releasing their captives unharmed.
He said the operation relied on a “non-kinetic” approach because a kinetic assault would have endangered the worshippers, who were being used as human shields.
“They reached out to the kidnappers and demanded the release of the victims, and the bandits complied, fully aware of the consequences,” he said.
The victims were freed on Sunday, two days after the DSS Director-General, Adeola Ajayi, briefed President Tinubu on the escalating crises nationwide.
Onanuga said the military is now determining the following steps to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
