The 25 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State have regained their freedom.

Reliable government and security sources confirmed the development on Tuesday.

Sources said that the girls were rescued earlier today and are being transported to the Government House in Birnin Kebbi for medical examination and debriefing.

“The girls have been freed. They are on their way to the State House,” a senior official said.

Although the rescue has been confirmed, details of how the schoolgirls were freed had not been made available as at the time of filing this report.

Security sources, however, said the breakthrough followed intensified joint operations involving the military, police, vigilantes, and intelligence teams across forest routes in the area.

The students were abducted on Monday, November 17, when gunmen invaded their boarding school in Maga.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive security cordon on forests in Kwara State following recent incidents of kidnappings and terrorist activities.

The directive was disclosed on Tuesday in a statement posted on X by the Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication to the President, Sunday Dare.

According to Dare, the President instructed the Nigerian Air Force to expand air surveillance across the innermost parts of the forests in Kwara, where terrorists are believed to be hiding.

He said, “President Tinubu has ordered total security cordon over the forests in Kwara State following recent kidnappings and terrorist activities.

“President Tinubu directed the Air Force to expand its air surveillance across the innermost parts of the forests in Kwara State where it is believed the terrorists are hiding. They are to maintain a 24-hour surveillance and link up with the boots on the ground.”

Dare added that the “order equally applies to the Kebbi and Niger States axis where many are expected to be rescued. Communities are also urged to provide timely information about strange movements and activities to aid the work of the security forces.”

The directives come in the wake of the recent abduction and rescue of 38 churchgoers in Eruku, and the reported kidnapping of at least 10 residents on Monday evening in Isapa, a neighbouring community in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.

It was gathered that the latest attack occurred around 6 p.m. when between 20 and 30 bandits stormed the quiet agrarian settlement with a large herd of cattle, shooting indiscriminately as residents fled for safety.

Our correspondent gathered that the attackers moved through several parts of the town, firing shots into homes and whisking away residents, including a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers and children.

The Isapa attack is the third major assault on Ekiti LGA communities in less than a month.

Three weeks ago, 18 residents were kidnapped in Eruku but later rescued.

Last week, 38 worshippers were abducted inside a church in Eruku during a thanksgiving service and were also later released.