Nigeria Secures Release of Final 130 Kidnapped Schoolchildren

In Brief

Nigerian authorities on Sunday announced they have secured the release of 130 schoolchildren, the final group taken by gunmen from a Catholic boarding school in November. The announcement appears to close a month-long mass abduction crisis that drew international attention to the country's severe security challenges.

All students abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria's north-central Niger State over a month ago have now been freed, according to a presidential spokesman. "Another 130 Abducted Niger State Pupils Released, None Left In Captivity," Sunday Dare said in a post on X on Sunday, December 21.

The ordeal began in late November when hundreds of students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in the rural hamlet of Papiri. The attack was part of a broader wave of mass abductions that have plagued the West African nation, echoing the infamous 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok.

"The remaining set of girls/secondary school students will be taken to Minna [the state capital] on Monday. We’ll have to still do final verification."

The exact number of captives has been a point of confusion throughout the crisis. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) initially reported 315 students and staff missing. About 50 escaped in the immediate aftermath, and the government secured the release of 100 more on December 7. Sunday's release of 130 children brings the public total to 280.

A UN source, speaking to the AFP news agency, helped clarify the discrepancy, suggesting that dozens thought to have been kidnapped had actually managed to escape during the attack and made their way home. The source noted that accounting has been complicated because the children’s homes are scattered across remote villages, some requiring hours of travel by motorbike to reach.

A 'Profit-Seeking Industry'

It remains unclear who was behind the mass abduction or what terms, if any, were met to secure the students' release. However, the incident fits a grim pattern in Nigeria, where kidnapping for ransom has evolved into a major criminal enterprise.

The recent spate of attacks in November has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the country's security apparatus. In addition to the St Mary's students, assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers, and a bride with her bridesmaids in separate incidents.

The crisis also intersects with international politics. U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged that mass killings of Christians in Nigeria amount to a “genocide” and has threatened military intervention. This narrative has long been promoted by the Christian right in the U.S. and Europe. However, the Nigerian government and independent analysts reject this framing, arguing that the violence is driven by complex socio-economic factors and criminality rather than a singular religious persecution agenda.