Conflict · Nigeria frees 308 detainees · ArchiveNigeria Frees 308 After Six Months Held in ForestAired August 7, 2026 at 11:11 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00On August 5th, Nigeria's president0:02announced at least 308 people abducted0:04in different attacks in northern Nigeria0:06had been rescued according to France 240:09metadata and the Nigerian president via0:11France 24. The total includes two0:13specific groups among those taken in0:15separate February raids. 163 people0:18abducted from the Wuro community in0:20February 2026 and 145 people kidnapped0:23mostly from Niger state. According to0:25the France 24 transcript, the 308 were0:28held captive in a forest in north0:30central Nigeria for 6 months since0:32February before being freed. The rescue0:35took place in the expansive Kainji Lake0:37National Park forest in Niger state0:39following coordinated intelligence in0:41conjunction with other security0:42agencies, the transcript reports. The0:44government says the operation0:46demonstrates growing efficiency and0:48collaboration among security services0:50and was described as the largest rescue0:52operation ever undertaken in Nigeria on0:55a single day. France 24 reports0:57large-scale abductions remain a major0:59security challenge [music] in Nigeria1:00with most carried out by jihadist groups1:02like Boko Haram and numerous [music]1:04other armed groups as a criminal1:05enterprise. President Bola Tinubu, who1:08is seeking re-election, [music] is1:09trying to improve security ahead of1:11campaigns for elections scheduled for1:13early next year when insecurity [music]1:15caused by mass abductions is expected to1:17feature as a major campaign issue1:19according to the transcript. Early this1:21week, the salaries of military personnel1:23were raised by up to 80% [music] and1:25President Bola Tinubu ordered tens of1:27thousands of new recruits into the1:28military according to the France 241:30report even as some Nigerians insist the1:33government must do more to address1:34insecurity and questions remain whether1:36a single-day mass rescue signals1:37sustained capacity or an exception.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗