The president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, said all 24 of the girls kidnapped last week had been rescued

All 24 schoolgirls held by assailants after a mass abduction last week from a school in north-western Nigeria have been rescued, the country’s president announced on Tuesday.

A total of 25 girls were abducted on 17 November from the Government Girls Comprehensive secondary school in Kebbi state’s Maga town, but one of them was able to escape the same day, the school’s principal said. The remaining 24 were all saved, according to a statement from the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, though no details were released about the rescue.

“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,” the statement said.

The attack in Kebbi was among a spate of recent mass abductions in Nigeria, including a raid on St Mary’s school in north-central Niger state on Friday, in which more than 300 students and staff from the Catholic school were abducted. Fifty students escaped over the weekend.