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All schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Private Primary and Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, have been released.
The final batch of 115 students were freed on Sunday, bringing the total number of rescued children to about 265 and ending a traumatic month-long ordeal.
The abduction occurred in the early hours of November 21, 2025, when armed gunmen attacked the boarding school, seizing 303 students and 12 teachers in what was one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent Nigerian history.
In the aftermath, The Eastern Updates reports 50 students escaped on their own shortly after the incident, while another 100 were released on December 8 following sustained security operations.
The release of the remaining 115 students has brought relief to families and is being hailed as a major breakthrough by security agencies involved in the rescue efforts.
President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted by terrorists from a school in Maga, Kebbi State, last Monday.
The girls were kidnapped at dawn on November 17, shortly after a military detachment left the school premises.
Disclosing this in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), on Tuesday, Tinubu noted that their release comes amid a surge of copycat kidnappings in other states, including Eruku in Kwara State and Papiri in Niger State.
All 38 abductees in Eruku were freed on Sunday, while in Niger State, 50 missing students of a Catholic school have been reunited with their families.
President Tinubu commended the security agencies for their efforts in securing the release of the students and urged them to intensify operations to rescue any remaining victims still in captivity.
