Nigerian authorities have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren who were abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Niger state last month, bringing relief to families after weeks of uncertainty.
Confirming the development, presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said on X that all remaining pupils had been freed. “Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” he wrote, sharing a photograph of smiling children.
Mass abduction in Niger state
In late November, gunmen stormed St Mary’s Catholic School Papiri, a co-educational boarding school in the rural hamlet of Papiri in north-central Niger state. Hundreds of students and staff were taken during the raid, though the exact number has remained unclear.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) earlier said that 315 students and staff were kidnapped. Around 50 reportedly escaped soon after the attack, while about 100 were freed on December 7 following negotiations by the government.
At the time, President Bola Tinubu said 115 people were still being held, a figure that differed from estimates provided by church groups.
Children to be reunited with families
A United Nations source said the released schoolchildren were expected to be taken to Minna, the capital of Niger state, on Tuesday, where they would undergo medical checks and counselling before being reunited with their families.
Authorities have not disclosed who was behind the kidnapping or whether ransom payments were involved. Officials have remained tight-lipped about the terms under which the children were released.
Renewed concerns over security
The abduction is part of a troubling resurgence of mass kidnappings across Nigeria, echoing memories of the 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. In recent weeks alone, armed groups have kidnapped Muslim schoolgirls, church worshippers, farm workers and wedding parties across different regions.
While kidnappings for ransom are a common tactic used by criminal gangs and armed groups, analysts say the scale and frequency of recent incidents highlight deepening security challenges.
International scrutiny
The developments come amid renewed international attention on Nigeria’s security situation. US President Donald Trump has alleged that killings of Christians in Nigeria amount to “genocide”, a claim rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts.
Nigeria, home to about 230 million people, faces multiple overlapping conflicts — from jihadist insurgency in the north-east to banditry in the north-west — affecting both Christian and Muslim communities.