Nigeria has secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted last month from a Catholic boarding school, Channels Television reported on Sunday. The West African country has seen a surge of mass kidnappings, forcing Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to declare a security emergency.
Gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in the village of Papiri, Niger State, on November 21, seizing 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers, according to the authorities. Two days later, 50 escaped and reunited with their families, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reported.
On Sunday, Channels Television cited officials as saying 100 more hostages have been released, leaving about 165 still in captivity. The report did not clarify whether any ransom was paid or how the latest release was negotiated.
Daniel Atori, spokesman for CAN in Niger State, told Reuters the group had not been formally briefed by the federal government about the operation.
“We hope and pray it is true and will be looking forward to when the remaining [hostages] will be released,” Atori said.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare has confirmed the reports, according to AFP.
The St. Mary’s raid is Nigeria’s worst school kidnapping since 2014, when more than 270 girls were seized from Chibok by the extremist group Boko Haram.
The UN human rights office has expressed shock at the recent surge in mass abductions, saying at least 402 people, mainly schoolchildren, have been kidnapped in four states in the north-central region – Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Borno – since November 17.
President Tinubu declared a “nationwide security emergency” on November 26 following mounting public anger, ordering security forces to recruit tens of thousands of new personnel.
The crisis has drawn in foreign powers. Earlier on Sunday, a US congressional delegation met Nigeria’s national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu in Abuja to discuss counterterrorism cooperation.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that France will expand intelligence support for the country after getting a request from Tinubu. Meanwhile, French forces have been expelled from neighboring Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso over their failure to stop a deadly insurgency.