More than 300 people who had been abducted in separate attacks across Nigeria have been rescued, including women and children who had spent months in captivity.

Nigerian security forces rescued 308 kidnapping victims from areas around Kainji Lake National Park, according to authorities. The victims were taken during separate attacks in Niger and Kwara states and were being held in remote forest areas.

Among those rescued were 163 people who had reportedly been kidnapped in February. Their release brings an end to months of captivity for many of the victims, while authorities continue efforts to locate other people believed to remain in the hands of armed groups.

The operation highlights the scale of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis, particularly in remote regions where criminal groups and armed gangs have used forests as hideouts and holding areas for captives.

For the survivors, however, the rescue marks a long-awaited return to freedom.

Some had been separated from their families for months. Women and children were among those brought out of the forest as security forces continued searching the area for remaining captives and suspected kidnappers.

The Nigerian government has described the rescue as a major security operation and said efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks and free additional victims would continue.

For hundreds of families, the news finally brought something they had been waiting months to hear:

Their loved ones were coming home.