Parents in southwestern Nigeria relieved after kidnapped children return

Parents of students abducted from a school in Nigeria's southwestern Oyo State expressed relief and gratitude after their children were rescued following nearly two months in captivity.

Families celebrated the news as authorities began reuniting the children with their loved ones. The pupils and their teachers remain at a military hospital in Ibadan, the state capital, where they are undergoing medical assessments and receiving care.

"When I heard that they have been rescued, I was only a bit happy because I was trying to confirm if it's the truth or not," said Jeremiah Jandeh, father to one of the abducted children.

He said he now had "peace of mind" after the news of their rescue was confirmed.

The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.

Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.