Nigerian School Abduction Ends as 130 More Children Freed Ahead of Christmas

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ABUJA (Worthy News) – The remaining 130 schoolchildren and staff abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month — one of the largest mass kidnappings in the country’s history — have been freed, officials confirmed.

The release, ahead of Christmas, followed weeks of prayer appeals and government-backed security operations, Worthy News established.

“The remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted by terrorists have now been released. They are expected to arrive in Minna on Monday and rejoin their parents for the Christmas celebration,” President Bola Tinubu’s aide Bayo Onanuga said in remarks monitored by Worthy News. “The freedom of the schoolchildren followed a military-intelligence driven operation.”

GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS MILITARY-LED RESCUE

He said the total number of freed students now stands at 230. They were among more than 300 pupils and 12 staff members seized from St. Mary’s Catholic Boarding School in Niger State on November 21, Worthy News reported earlier.

Fifty children managed to escape during the initial attack, the Christian Association of Nigeria previously said, while authorities announced on December 8 that security forces had rescued 100 abductees.

Police said the remaining captives were freed Sunday, about a month after gunmen stormed the school in Niger State’s Papiri community during a pre-dawn raid, in what officials described as efforts to reunite the children with their families before Christmas.

CHILDREN SHOW SIGNS OF TRAUMA

Some of the children appeared malnourished or in shock as they arrived at a government ceremony, highlighting the physical and emotional toll of weeks in captivity.

The mass abduction has fueled nationwide anger over worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs — often referred to locally as bandits — frequently target schools for ransom.

Both Christians and Muslims have been victimized, though Christian institutions, schools, and clergy are often singled out, church leaders say.

CONFIRMED CHURCH REACTION

Earlier in the crisis, Pope Francis publicly appealed for the release of the abducted children. During his Angelus address, he said he felt “great pain” for the kidnapped boys and girls and their families and urged prayers for their safe return, according to Vatican News.

Church authorities in Nigeria also urged prayer and calm as children began escaping and being freed in stages, Vatican News reported. School kidnappings surged after Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014. More than a decade later, dozens of those girls remain missing.

Nigeria currently ranks sixth worldwide on the World Watch List, compiled by Open Doors, which monitors persecution of Christians. The high ranking reflects widespread killings, church attacks, mass abductions, and forced displacement driven by Islamist militants and criminal gangs, particularly in the north and central regions of the country, Open Doors explained.

Despite repeated security pledges by successive governments, Christian leaders warn that children, churches, and faith-based schools remain at grave risk.

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