The remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted by terrorists at St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21, have now been released. They are expected to arrive in Minna on Monday and rejoin their parents for the Christmas celebration.
One hundred were released earlier by the terrorists, taking the total of freed students to 230.
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The gunmen invaded the school on November 21 on motorbikes, taking away 315 persons — 303 students and 12 teachers — in an operation that lasted three hours.
Subsequently, 50 pupils escaped within the first 24 hours, with 265 abductees, including all 12 teachers, remaining in captivity.
On December 7, the federal government secured the release of 100 students.
The rescue followed intensified military operations, aerial surveillance across Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states, and the deployment of community hunters in the forests.
President Bola Tinubu had cancelled scheduled foreign trips to personally oversee the response, which also triggered the indefinite closure of schools in Niger state and several federal institutions in high-risk areas
The freedom of the schoolchildren followed a military-intelligence driven operation
