The Federal Government has secured the release of 100 abducted schoolchildren of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in the Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
They were said to have regained freedom 16 days after the gunmen raided their school, kidnapping the schoolchildren from their hostel.
Although the federal authorities were yet to issue an official statement as of press time on Sunday.
Gunmen had attacked the remote community on November 21, storming the school around 2 am on motorbikes and operating for nearly three hours.
About 50 pupils managed to escape within the first 24 hours and were reunited with their families, leaving 265 victims in captivity.
The development came two weeks after bandits attacked the school, abducting 315 people, comprising 303 students and 12 teachers.
It was gathered that with the release of 100 pupils, 153 pupils and 12 teachers are still held in the gunmen’s captive.
It was learnt that the rescued pupils were currently receiving medical evaluation and will be reunited with their families after debriefing.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Spokesperson, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, proved abortive, as she said she was in a meeting and would call back later.
Recall that the Christian Association of Nigeria announced that 50 of the kidnapped school pupils escaped some hours after their kidnapping and were “reunited with their parents.”
