FG secures release of 100 pupils abducted from Niger Catholic school

The Federal Government on Sunday secured the release of at least 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, more than two weeks after armed bandits launched a devastating overnight raid on the remote community.

The attack, which occurred on 21 November 2025, began around 2:00 a.m. when gunmen on motorbikes stormed the school and operated for nearly three hours. By the time they withdrew, 315 people, 303 students and 12 teachers had been taken from their dormitories into the surrounding forest.

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Security forces, supported by local hunters and vigilante groups, immediately launched a wide-area search across dense forest corridors spanning Niger, Kebbi and Kwara States.

Within the first 24 hours, 50 pupils managed to escape and were reunited with their families, but 265 victims, 253 schoolchildren and all 12 teachers, remained in captivity.

In response to the mass abduction, the Federal Government activated what officials described as one of the largest coordinated rescue operations in recent years.

A 24-hour security cordon was imposed across vulnerable border communities, while military aircraft carried out sustained aerial surveillance over suspected hideouts.

President Bola Tinubu also cancelled scheduled international engagements to personally oversee the national response.

Authorities ordered the immediate and indefinite closure of all schools in Niger State, alongside heightened security alerts for federal institutions in high-risk regions.

Last Monday, Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser visited Bulus Yohanna, Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Proprietor of the school, as well as relatives of the abducted pupils at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Kontagora.

He conveyed President Tinubu’s assurance that the children would be safely returned.

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“The abducted pupils are doing fine and will return soon,” Ribadu said, urging anxious families to remain hopeful. “God is with them and God is with us. Evil will never win. They are going to come back. I give you that assurance.”

Details of the release of the 100 children remain sketchy, as security agencies have yet to provide an official briefing on the circumstances surrounding their recovery.

Channels Television reported the development on Sunday, even as federal authorities had yet to issue a formal statement as of press time.

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