Two dozen schoolgirls freed after kidnapping in northwestern Nigeria last week

Two dozen schoolgirls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria’s northwestern Kebbi state last week have been freed, according to officials, as the country grapples with a wave of mass abductions in recent days.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu welcomed their release on Tuesday.

“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for,” the president said in a statement from his special adviser Bayo Onanuga. “Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping.”

Last Monday, armed bandits stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town. State authorities said…