World

Students abducted by militants in Nigeria rescued

By Dyepkazah Shibayan

Jul 12, 2026

Nigeria School Attack — Nigerian school students kidnapped two months ago are recovering after being rescued. -AP

Students abducted two months ago by Islamic militants in Nigeria's southwestern Oyo state have been rescued.

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Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.

Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.

The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country's security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.

"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," Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement on X.

In the same week as the Oyo abduction, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno, the epicentre of Nigeria's security crisis.

Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.