At least 39 schoolchildren and six teachers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s southwestern ​Oyo State nearly two months ago ‌have been rescued by security forces, a presidential spokesperson said on Friday.

Nigeria school kidnappings in southwest stokes fears of widening insecurity.

An empty street in the Esinle community, where pupils and teachers were abducted in a large-scale school attack, in Oyo State, Nigeria, June 2, 2026.

The students and teachers ​were abducted on May 15 ​when armed men targeted multiple schools in ⁠Oyo’s Oriire district.
Oyo officials had said ​one of the abducted teachers was killed ​in captivity.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said eight kidnappers were arrested and are in custody.

The ​statement quoted President Bola Tinubu saying ​his government “will get justice for these children and ‌their ⁠teachers” and the family of the teacher “who the terrorists gruesomely murdered.”

Mass kidnappings by armed groups have become a major security ​challenge in ​Nigeria in ⁠recent years, with criminal gangs exploiting weak security and porous ​borders to target travelers, students ​and ⁠rural communities for cash and in-kind payments.

Schools are often targeted, although such attacks are ⁠less ​frequent in the southwest ​of the country.

–Reuters–