A surge of relief and raw emotion swept through Niger State on Monday as 100 children abducted from St Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, were reunited with their families, nearly three weeks after they were seized by gunmen.
The pupils—some as young as five—arrived at the Niger State Government House in Minna shortly after 5.30pm, marching into the packed hall in a single file to applause and shouts from parents who had waited anxiously for hours. Many of the children appeared malnourished and exhausted but visibly elated to be free.
Their release marks a significant breakthrough in a kidnapping that has gripped the nation. The attack on 21 November saw armed men storm the school in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area. Initial claims by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) suggested 303 pupils were taken; the school proprietor and Niger CAN chairman, Rev Bulus Yohanna, later confirmed that 227 students and 12 teachers were abducted. Fifty children escaped within the first two days. With Monday’s return of 100, 115 students and the 12 teachers remain in captivity.
At the handover ceremony, a representative of the National Security Adviser, Abdullahi Hong, formally transferred the freed children to the Niger State governor, Mohammed Bago. Struggling to hold back emotion, Bago thanked security agencies and President Bola Tinubu for what he described as “the inputs” that led to the rescue.
“I am emotionally broken down because I saw their sizes, their ages,” he said. “We wish to recover the other students still in captivity. By the grace of God, in a very short time from now, we are going to recover them, Insha Allah.”
He assured parents that the children would undergo medical checks before being reunited with their families and said the state was working closely with CAN to ensure their safe return home.
From Abuja, Tinubu welcomed the news and immediately ordered security agencies to “secure the immediate freedom” of the remaining hostages. “My directive remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians must be rescued and brought back home safely,” he said in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga. “We must account for all the victims.”
Tinubu said the federal government was working with the Niger State authorities not only to support the returning children but to strengthen security in schools across the country. “Our children should no longer be sitting ducks for heartless terrorists,” he added.
Mass school abductions have become a grim feature of Nigeria’s insecurity landscape since Boko Haram seized 276 girls from Chibok in 2014, prompting a wave of copycat kidnappings driven largely by criminal gangs seeking ransom. Niger State has been one of the hardest hit, including the high-profile abduction of students and staff in Kagara in 2021. Recent weeks have brought coordinated attacks on schools and worship centres in Kebbi and Kwara states.
Tinubu’s declaration of a security emergency on 26 November ordered a surge of operations to protect schools, farms and places of worship, with service chiefs instructed to work in lockstep with state governments.
News of the children’s return came as a surprise to some in the church community. Earlier on Sunday, Niger CAN said it was unaware of any release, with Bishop Yohanna — who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora — telling his congregation that confirmation would be “cheering news” if true.
The release followed a three-day fasting and prayer organised by CAN across the state’s 25 local government areas, culminating in a service at the 1st ECWA Church in Minna. Worshippers from multiple denominations gathered to pray for the 265 children and teachers originally believed to be held, urging unity across religion, tribe and politics.
Represented by his deputy, Rev Ezekiel Ibrahim, Yohanna urged Christians and Muslims alike to rally in faith for “divine intervention” to end the insecurity tormenting the state.
For the parents of the 100 returned children, prayers have been answered — but the ordeal is far from over, with more than a hundred others still awaiting rescue.
