A schoolgirl who was abducted with 24 others from a dormitory in Nigeria has escaped and is safe, the school’s principal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The student arrived home late Monday, hours after the kidnapping at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, in the northwestern Kebbi state, said principal Musa Rabi Magaji.

One other student, who was not among the 25 confirmed abducted, also escaped in the minutes that followed the attack, the principal told the AP.

“One is part of the 25 abducted (and) the other one returned earlier,” Magaji said. “They are safe and sound.”

Security forces, meanwhile, have intensified efforts to rescue the other girls who were kidnapped when gunmen attacked the high school before dawn on Monday, killing a member of staff.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu visited the school hours after the attack and directed soldiers to conduct “intelligence-driven operations and relentless day-and-night pursuit of the abductors,” according to an army statement.

“We must find these children. Act decisively and professionally on all intelligence. Success is not optional,” the army chief said.

NEWSMAXNG reported that the minister of information Mohammed Idris Malagi, had assured the general public that the Tinunu-led government is doing everything it should to ensure the safe return of the abducted girls.

“We assure Nigerians that strengthening internal security remains a top priority. The Federal Government is recalibrating the nation’s military, policing, and intelligence capabilities to more effectively prevent these attacks and respond with greater speed and precision whenever threats arise,” he said.