Six kidnapped pupils and three teachers of a primary school in Ekiti, south-west Nigeria, have regained their freedom, according to the police, according to TRT Afrika.

The abductees were rescued in the early hours of Sunday.

Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying more than a dozen schoolchildren on Monday, January 29, and took away the victims, including the bus driver, authorities said.

It was not made clear how they were rescued—if any ransom was paid or arrests were made.

The Ekiti State Police Command Spokesperson, Sunday Abutu, in statement on Sunday morning, however, noted the bus driver was dead.

“All victims were rescued today at about 1.30am, but unfortunately, we lost the driver who was suspectedly killed by the abductors,” said Ekiti State Police Command Spokesperson Sunday Abutu.

Armed gangs have been abducting villagers, road travellers, and students in return for ransom as Africa's most populous nation grapples with widespread insecurity, which also includes a long-running insurgency in the northeast.

President Bola Tinubu, whose focus has been reviving a struggling economy, has been under increased scrutiny over a wave of abductions across Nigeria, including on the outskirts of the country's capital, Abuja.