The Federal Government is said to have secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.
The development comes two weeks after bandits attacked the school, abducting 315 people, comprising 303 students and 12 teachers.
It was gathered that with the release of 100 pupils, 153 pupils and 12 teachers are still held captive.
Although details of the release are still sketchy as of the time of filing this report, The Guardian could not independently confirm if ransom was paid or if they were released unconditionally.
However, sources confirmed that the rescued pupils are currently receiving medical evaluation and will be reunited with their families after debriefing.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Spokesperson, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, as of 9:03 pm on Sunday, proved abortive, as she said she was in a meeting and would call back later.
Recall that the Christian Association of Nigeria announced that 50 of the kidnapped school pupils escaped some hours after their kidnapping and were “reunited with their parents.”
A BBC Pidgin team, however, reported that the 50 children were part of those who fled during the initial attack and returned independently, rather than escaping from captivity.
Parents who spoke to the BBC said young children were among those taken. One woman said two of her sister’s children, aged six and 13, were missing. She added that local residents informed soldiers that “the children were close by,” following reports that a vehicle used by the attackers broke down.
The attack in Niger State occurred just days after gunmen abducted 25 students from a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi and kidnapped worshippers from a church in Kwara. It also followed the killing of senior army officer General Sani Uba by suspected ISWAP fighters
