US EditionNigerian government frees 130 kidnapped Catholic schoolchildren
All 130 remaining pupils abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger state have been freed following a military-intelligence operation, ending one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings.
- Sunday, presidential spokesman Sunday Dare announced, `Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity`, confirming the final group from St Mary's in Papiri on December 22, 2025.
- Gunmen stormed St Mary's Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri on November 21, seizing more than 300 pupils and 12 staff while about 50 escaped immediately and 100 were freed earlier this month.
- Officials said a military-intelligence operation freed the pupils, and sources added they are being taken to Minna, Niger state capital, for medical checks and family reunions on Monday.
- The federal government described the release as a 'moment of triumph and relief' while President Bola Tinubu deployed ground troops and aerial surveillance and authorities temporarily closed some schools.
- Analysts note the raid echoes Chibok and counts remain inconsistent as the Christian Association of Nigeria cited 315 taken, while analysts say ransoms are usually paid.
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208 Articles
InsideNoVA.com
Last of kidnapped Nigerian pupils handed over, government says
Some 130 Nigerian Catholic school pupils were handed over to state authorities Monday, a day after the government said it had secured their release a month after one of the country's worst mass abductions.
One month after the kidnapping from a Catholic boarding school in Nigeria, the last 130 children are now free. Previously, primary school children had been released. It remains unclear whether ransom was paid.
Abuya. Some 130 children and staff of St. Mary Catholic school abducted on 21 November by armed subjects in Nigeria were released, police reported yesterday.
The spokesman for the Nigerian Executive indicated that a group of 100 students were previously released by the terrorists, bringing the total number of students released to 230.
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