FG says 130 more abducted Niger Catholic School pupils released nearly a month after being abducted

The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.

“Another 130 abducted Niger State pupils released, none left in captivity,” presidential spokesman Sunday Dare said in a post on X, accompanied by a photograph showing the smiling children.

Dare did not provide details on the circumstances surrounding their release.

The students were taken in November when armed bandits stormed St. Mary’s Private Catholic School, abducting a total of 303 children and 12 teachers, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The victims included both boys and girls, some as young as 10.

Less than 48 hours after the abduction, 50 students managed to escape and return to their families, CAN said at the time. Earlier this month, the Nigerian government announced that security forces had rescued 100 of the kidnapped victims.

Dare’s post on Sunday put the last students being held at 130 – slightly fewer than were thought to remain in captivity.

The November abduction was the latest in a wave of attacks by armed groups targeting vulnerable civilian populations, particularly schools, and carrying out mass kidnappings for ransom. Violence in the country has repeatedly erupted from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as from disputes between farmers and herders over limited access to land and water resources.