Developing: Niger govt receives freed 100 school children

Niger Govt, Bago

The Niger State Government has received the freed 100 schoolchildren who were abducted last month from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of the state.

Late Sunday the news broke that the federal government had brokered their release. How and when this was done was not stated. There was no information as whether ransom was paid for their release or not. Also, there was no statement as regard the fate the pupils still in captivity

The Niger state government and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger state chapter had claimed ignorance of the students release.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Mohammed Bago, received the school pupils at the Government House in Minna, the state capital on Monday.

Gunmen had attacked the remote community on November 21, storming the school around 2 am on motorbikes and operating for nearly three hours.

They abducted 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers.

About 50 pupils managed to escape within the first 24 hours and were reunited with their families, leaving 265 victims in captivity.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, visited the school last week in Papiri, reassuring the school authorities and parents that the abducted children would soon return and were safe.