More details emerge as Niger school abductees regain freedom

The kidnapping and release of the students and staff members comes amid a resurgence of mass kidnappings across Nigeria.

Additional details have emerged about the students and staff of St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, who regained their freedom on Sunday, one month after they were abducted from their dormitories on 21 November.

The victims were released at a location near Nigeria’s border with Benin and were transported through the garrison town of Wawa, Mokwa and Bida to Minna, the Niger State capital.

Security sources confirmed the release of 130 captives, comprising students and staff. Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State police spokesperson, later confirmed the development, saying the released persons included both students and staff.

“Further developments will be communicated,” Mr Abiodun said in a Sunday evening statement.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, also announced the release in a post on X, stating that no victim remained in captivity.

However, conflicting figures continue to trail the abduction. While government officials say all hostages have been released, the school management and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier put the total number of remaining abducted persons at 165, following the release of 100 captives on 7 December.

Therefore, by the school’s estimates, as many as 35 people may still be unaccounted for, raising concerns that some victims could remain missing.

This is a developing story, and PREMIUM TIMES will follow up for more updates.

A promise fulfilled

The release follows assurances by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, during a meeting with the school management that the remaining captives would be freed before Christmas.

Terrorists stormed the Catholic boarding school in the early hours of 21 November, abducting an estimated 265 students and staff after about 50 people managed to escape.

Fourteen days later, government efforts led to the release of 100 captives, comprising 99 students and one staff member, who were handed over to the Niger State government on 8 December.

Who are the abductors?

Although authorities have not officially named those responsible, an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and The New Humanitarian found that the abduction was carried out by a Boko Haram faction led by Mallam Sadiku.

The circumstances surrounding the captives’ release remain unclear. There have been allegations that the government pays ransom to the bandits or does a prisoner exchange with them. The government has, however, repeatedly denied paying ransom to bandits.

The kidnapping and release of the students and staff members comes amid a resurgence of mass kidnappings across Nigeria, highlighting the country’s worsening security crisis. A decade after the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, kidnap-for-ransom has evolved into what SBM Intelligence describes as a structured criminal enterprise, generating an estimated N2.56 billion between July 2024 and June 2025.