The final group of 130 Nigerian schoolchildren freed after a mass abduction are expected to be reunited with their families in central Niger State on Monday, bringing to a close a month-long ordeal that sparked widespread concern at home and abroad.
The children were among more than 300 pupils and 12 staff kidnapped on November 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic School, a remote community about seven hours’ drive from the state capital, Minna. The attack ranks among Nigeria’s worst school abductions in recent years.
They are expected to be transported to Minna later on Monday to meet their relatives ahead of Christmas, according to a spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu. One hundred students were released on December 8, while 50 others escaped shortly after the abduction.
The incident renewed public anger over worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, where armed groups frequently target schools for ransom. Such attacks surged after militants from Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
Presidency spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the latest release followed “a military-intelligence-driven operation,” though no further details were provided.
