MINNA, Nigeria — In a significant development for Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis, approximately 130 Catholic school pupils were formally transferred to state custody on Monday following their liberation from captors. The children’s release concludes a harrowing month-long ordeal that began with one of Nigeria’s most severe mass abduction incidents in recent history.
The handover ceremony at Niger State Government House witnessed six vehicles transporting the children under heavy security escort, including armored personnel carriers. The group comprised the final batch of victims taken during the late November raid on St. Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Nigeria, accompanied by seven teachers and support staff.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago expressed profound relief during the reception, stating, ‘We give thanks for divine mercy, as contemplating the torment these young souls endured is truly unbearable.’ According to attending educators, the rescued children ranged from four to ten years old.
This incident echoes the notorious 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping by Boko Haram, highlighting persistent security challenges in Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria continues grappling with interconnected security threats, including northeastern jihadist insurgencies and northwestern armed banditry.
While officials haven’t disclosed either the perpetrators’ identities or the negotiation particulars leading to the release, security analysts speculate based on historical precedents that prohibited ransom payments may have facilitated the resolution. The November abduction wave drew international attention to Nigeria’s deteriorating security landscape, where kidnappings have become a lucrative enterprise for armed factions operating within the conflict-ridden nation.