A group of young women and girls abducted in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on November 22, 2025, were freed late Saturday.
Their release comes amid a surge in abductions of young people across the country over the past two weeks.
"All 12 were released," Abubakar Mazhinyi, president of the local Askira-Uba council, told the AFP news agency.
The Nigeria Army said "the rescued girls have been evacuated to a secure military facility where they are receiving comprehensive medical care, psychological support and debriefing. Upon completion of these processes, they will be formally reunited with their families."
Last Saturday, 13 women and girls aged 16 to 23 were abducted near farms close to an area that has become a jihadist hideout.
The Army said Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province ISWAP was behind the abduction.
The gang freed one of them after she told them she was nursing a baby.
Borno state is at the center of Nigeria's conflict with the jihadists, which started 16 years ago with Boko Haram.
Although the jihadist movement has lost momentum, Boko Haram and its rival, the breakaway Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continue to pose a threat in the region.