Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state have been rescued, the government said Friday.

Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.

Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.

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.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement, ‘This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular.’

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.