Nigeria: Nigerian authorities have secured the release of the remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic boarding school in the country’s central Niger state, bringing an end to one of the worst mass abductions in recent years.
The children were taken from St Mary’s Catholic School in the town of Papiri on November 21, when gunmen stormed the school and abducted students and staff. More than 250 people were initially reported missing, though the exact number has remained unclear since the attack.
Earlier this month, about 100 of the children were freed. On Sunday, the federal government confirmed that all those still held had now been released and that no pupils remain in captivity. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the total number of students freed now stands at 230.
The circumstances surrounding the latest release have not been made public. Authorities have not said how the children were freed or whether any ransom was paid. Images released by the presidency showed groups of smiling children waving as they prepared to return home. The students are expected to arrive in the Niger state capital, Minna, on Monday.
When the first group of children was released, the governor of neighbouring Nasarawa state said the federal government had played a central role in the operation. Still, he stressed that details could not be disclosed for security reasons. The Christian Association of Nigeria has said that around 50 students managed to escape during the initial attack.
The kidnapping of the St Mary’s students was part of a wider surge in attacks targeting schools and places of worship across northern and central Nigeria. In the days leading up to the Papiri abduction, several similar attacks were reported.
On November 18, gunmen killed two people and abducted 38 others from a church in Kwara state. A day earlier, two people were killed, and 25 Muslim students were taken from a government girls’ school in Kebbi state. All those abducted in the Kwara and Kebbi incidents have since been freed.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but security analysts believe most of the kidnappings are carried out by criminal gangs seeking ransom. Earlier this month, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that his government would continue to collaborate with state authorities to enhance security around schools and ensure safer learning environments for children nationwide.
