On Sunday 7 December, one hundred of the schoolchildren abducted from St Mary’s Catholic in Papiri in Niger State on 21 November were released into the custody of Nigerian government forces. The children were taken to Minna, the state capital of Niger state, on the following day where they were officially received by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago before being handed over to government officials. They were reunited with their parents in emotional scenes on Tuesday 9 December.
Details of the operation to free the children have not been revealed but it seems to have been a planned and negotiated release. The Nigerian government did not say if any ransom had been paid.
Reverend Sister Felicia Gyang, Principal of St Mary’s school, thanked the security agencies for the “rescue of our children”, saying: “We are pleading that God should give them more strength to be able to rescue the remaining children.” Some 153 children and twelve staff members remain in captivity.
One of the released primary school boys, Onyeka Chieme, told Associated Press about his time as a hostage: “On the first night we got there, I thought they were going to kill us. But their leader said we should not fear, it is just money that they wanted. If they paid the money, they would release everyone to go home.”
He went on to detail what happened on the day of their release, saying that the children were asked to form a queue. Some of them, terrified that it meant a punishment, ran to the back of the line. The gunmen counted the first 100 students, took them out of the bush, before transferring them onto military buses. The other 153 children (including his brother) and the twelve teachers were left behind.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu welcomed the releases saying, “I rejoice with Governor Umar Bago and commend our security agencies for their steadfast work in ensuring the safe return of the students to their families since the unfortunate incident on November 21.
“My directive to our security forces remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians across the country must be rescued and brought back home safely. We must account for all the victims.”
USA welcomes releases
United States Congressman Riley Moore, who visited Nigeria in November at the request of US President Donald Trump and met senior Nigerian government leaders, described the rescue as “a positive demonstration of the government’s increasing response to the security situation.’”
In a post on X, he wrote: “I want to thank the Nigerian government and President Bola Tinubu for rescuing the 100 innocent and precious Catholic school children. This is a positive demonstration of the government’s increasing response to the security situation and shows commitment to the emergency declaration laid out by President Tinubu.
“The US’ sense of urgency on our concerns was positively received. I feel that a cooperative security framework is within sight. The now established joint task force between Nigeria and the US is a great example.
“It is clear that there is an openness and willingness on the part of the Nigerian government to work with the United States to tackle these critical issues. Now, that openness has to translate to concrete action.
“There is much work still to be done, but things are moving in the right direction. I look forward to the next steps with Nigerian government and the continued open dialogue.
(ABC News, CSW, Sky News)
Representative image – Ladiwayne (Pexels),