The Federal Government has successfully negotiated the freedom of 100 schoolchildren who were among those seized by armed bandits from St. Mary's Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State. This development brings a glimmer of hope two weeks after the devastating attack that saw 315 individuals taken from the school premises.
Details of the Release and Remaining Captives
The attack, which targeted the school in Agwara Local Government Area, initially resulted in the abduction of 303 students and 12 teachers. With this latest release of 100 pupils, the grim tally of those still in captivity stands at 153 pupils and all 12 teachers. The circumstances surrounding their liberation remain unclear as authorities have not disclosed whether a ransom was paid or if it was an unconditional release.
Sources close to the situation confirm that the rescued children are presently undergoing thorough medical checks and will be debriefed before being reunited with their anxious families. Efforts to obtain an official statement from the Federal Ministry of Education's spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, were unsuccessful late Sunday.
Confusion Over Earlier Escape Reports
This incident follows earlier reports of an escape. The Christian Association of Nigeria had announced that 50 of the kidnapped pupils managed to escape hours after the kidnapping and were returned to their parents. However, investigations by a BBC Pidgin team suggested a different narrative, indicating these 50 children were part of a group that fled during the initial chaos of the attack and found their way back independently, rather than escaping from a bandit camp.
Distraught parents who spoke to the BBC revealed the tender age of some victims, with one woman reporting her sister's two children, aged six and thirteen, among the missing. Local residents had reportedly informed soldiers that the children were nearby after the vehicle used by the attackers broke down.
A Troubling Pattern of Violence
The Niger State school attack is not an isolated event but part of a distressing pattern of violence targeting educational institutions and communities in northern Nigeria. It occurred just days after separate incidents where gunmen abducted 25 students from a girls' secondary school in Kebbi State and kidnapped worshippers from a church in Kwara State.
This wave of insecurity also included the killing of a senior army officer, General Sani Uba, by suspected fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The confluence of these events underscores the severe and multifaceted security challenges facing the region, putting the safety of schoolchildren and citizens at constant risk.
