The Nigerian Government has rescued 100 students from the Catholic boarding school St. Mary, in Papiri, who were kidnapped on November 21 during a massive attack carried out by armed groups operating in the country. There are still 115 minors in the hands of the captors.
President Tinubu thanks for the rescue and demands the release of all the kidnapped
In a statement released this Monday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu expressed his satisfaction with the return of the students and recognized the work of the security forces. “I am pleased with the return of 100 students from the Catholic school in Niger State,” he said. “I congratulate Governor Umar Bago and our security agencies for their constant efforts to ensure that the children return to their families from the tragic incident of November 21”.
Tinubu assured that the order to the security forces remains clear: all minors and civilians kidnapped must be rescued. “We must respond for all the victims,” he emphasized, insisting that Nigeria cannot allow its children “to be defenseless targets for soulless terrorists”.
A massive kidnapping in a martyred region
The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora reported that another 50 minors managed to escape on their own and return to their families, according to Aid to the Church in Need. The initial figures spoke of about 315 children kidnapped by armed men who fled on motorcycles, a common modality in attacks against Christian schools in northern Nigeria.
The horror of the kidnapping was reflected in the testimony of a father interviewed by the BBC: “The children were moved on foot like shepherds control their flock,” he recounted. “Some fell and the men kicked them to force them to get up. The captors were on about 50 motorcycles while guiding them”.
Nigeria has been experiencing for years a wave of anti-Christian violence marked by kidnappings, attacks on parishes, and murders of priests, catechists, and faithful. The Papiri case adds to a long list of mass abductions committed by criminal gangs and jihadist groups.
Nigeria promises to continue the operation until all are freed
While negotiations and search operations continue, President Tinubu assured that the Government will not rest until the remaining 115 children return home. He called for intensifying efforts to prevent new attacks and guarantee the security of educational centers.
“The goal is clear,” he stated: “our children must be able to study without fear and without becoming victims of terrorists who seek to sow chaos and suffering”.