Nigeria rescues schoolchildren, teachers abducted in Oyo, presidency says

LAGOS, July 10 (Reuters) - 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.

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• 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.

Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri, Writing ​by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Deepa Babington

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