MINNA, Nigeria — One hundred pupils from St. Mary’s Catholic private primary and secondary school in Papiri, north-central Nigeria, were received on Monday, December 8, 2025, by the governor of Niger state, Umaru Bago, a day after regaining their freedom following two weeks in captivity.
The children arrived at the Government House in Minna at about 5:20 p.m., conveyed in several buses under tight security.
They were welcomed by Bago, senior government officials and emotional family members who had waited anxiously since the abduction.
The pupils were among hundreds of students and staff kidnapped in the early hours of Friday, November 21, 2025, when armed men stormed the school in Papiri, a community in Munya Local Government Area of Niger state.
The attackers, who arrived on motorbikes at about 2 a.m., initially took away 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers, in an operation that lasted roughly three hours.
Within the first 24 hours of the mass abduction, 50 pupils managed to escape.
The remaining 265 abductees, including all 12 teachers, were held in captivity until Sunday, December 7, 2026, when the federal government announced the release of 100 of the students.
Despite the latest development, 153 students and the 12 teachers remain in the custody of the kidnappers, according to officials.
Government sources said the rescue followed intensified military operations, sustained aerial surveillance across Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states, and the deployment of community hunters into forested areas believed to be hiding places for the bandits.
Speaking before the pupils were reunited with their families, the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, sought to reassure the country that the abducted children were in stable condition.
“Mr. President is in pain; he is in sorrow just like all of us. He stopped everything he was doing; he was supposed to travel but he suspended his journey,” Ribadu said.
“Enough is enough. We will not be relentless in our efforts. We are all under attack. Let us not allow bad people to divide us; let us not allow evil to get into us.”
He added that international partners were offering support in the fight against mass kidnappings and armed violence.
“Many good people from all over the world are coming to support us, including the United States of America,” Ribadu said.
“We appreciate everyone, especially European countries like France, the United Kingdom and a couple of others. The whole world is coming together to stop and defeat this evil which has been going on in Nigeria for two decades.”
The kidnapping in Papiri is the latest in a long string of school abductions that have plagued northern and north-central Nigeria in recent years, as criminal gangs exploit weak security and vast forested terrain to conduct mass kidnappings for ransom.
While officials have not disclosed whether any payment was involved in securing the partial release, the federal and state governments have maintained that military pressure played a decisive role.
Monday, December 8, 2025’s reception at the Government House marked the first public appearance of the freed pupils since their release.
Many appeared visibly exhausted but physically unharmed as they were ushered into the compound under the gaze of security personnel and cheering onlookers.
Bago did not address reporters directly at the event, but officials present said arrangements were being made to provide medical evaluation, psychological care and reunification support for the returning children.
For families of those still held, however, relief was tempered by lingering fear.
Parents of the remaining 165 captives, including teachers, said they would continue to press the authorities to ensure that every child and staff member is safely returned.
Nigeria’s government has repeatedly vowed to end the cycle of mass abductions, but the persistence of such attacks continues to test public confidence in the country’s security architecture and its ability to protect vulnerable communities.
