The Federal Government has secured the release of 100 schoolchildren kidnapped from St Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, according to reports on Sunday.
Recall that the children were among 315 people, 303 students and 12 teachers, taken when armed bandits stormed the remote border community in the early hours of 21 November.
The attackers, who arrived on motorbikes, swept through the school at about 2:00 am, moving from dormitory to dormitory before forcing their hostages into the surrounding forest. Their operation lasted nearly three hours.
Around "50 pupils managed to escape" within the first day, but at least 265 victims, including 253 children and all 12 teachers, remained in captivity.
The scale of the abduction triggered a nationwide security response, with the federal authorities imposing a 24-hour security cordon around vulnerable border communities and deploying ground troops and aerial surveillance across parts of Niger, Kebbi, and Kwara States.
President Bola Tinubu cancelled planned international engagements to supervise the rescue mission.
Education authorities also ordered the immediate shutdown of all schools in Niger State, alongside several federal institutions in high-risk areas, as security agencies continued operations to secure the remaining captives.
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