THE Federal Government has secured the release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren whisked away by gunmen from the St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State.
A presidential spokesman, Sunday Dare, announced this on his official X handle sighted by News Point Nigeria on Sunday.
“Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” Dare said in the post on X.
The post was accompanied by a photo of smiling children and a woman.
Over 300 children, teachers, and other staff members were kidnapped by the gunmen who stormed the Catholic school in the early hours of November 21.
Sources said the gunmen, who arrived in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van, shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries.
The state government, while condemning the attack, said it had earlier issued a clear directive suspending all construction activities and ordering the temporary closure of all boarding schools within the affected zone as a precautionary measure, a claim the school authorities denied.
The Niger attack was the latest in a series of abductions involving schoolchildren, and came less than a week after bandits kidnapped over 20 girls from the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga, Kebbi State.
Days later, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) disclosed that 50 of the children escaped from captivity.
The exact number of those who were kidnapped from the school is still unclear, as CAN had earlier said 315 people were taken away.
The Federal Government responded by imposing a 24-hour security cordon and launching aerial surveillance across parts of Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States.
President Bola Tinubu cancelled planned international travel to address the crisis.
On December 7, the Federal Government said it secured the release of 100 of the children.
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State received the 100 Abducted pupils at the Niger State Government House.
The children arrived at the Niger State Government House at about 5:20 pm and were received by Governor Umar Bago and other government officials on Monday, December 8, 2025.
The abductions sparked global outrage over the spate of insecurity in the country, kidnappings recorded in different states, including Kwara — where 38 worshippers were kidnapped — and Borno states.
The incidents came amid international pressure from the US, whose President, Donald Trump, threatened to send US forces into Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing” if Africa’s most populous country did not stem what he claimed was the killing of Christians by Islamists, “committing these horrible atrocities”.
His threat came a day after he declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern”.