Bago receives 100 freed Catholic schoolchildren in Minna

Umaru Bago, governor of Niger state, on Monday received the 100 pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic private primary and secondary school, Papiri, who regained their freedom on Sunday after spending two weeks in captivity.

The children, conveyed in several buses under tight security, arrived at the government house in Minna around 5:20 p.m.

They were welcomed by the governor, top government officials, and family members.

The pupils were kidnapped from their school in Papiri, a community in the Munya LGA of Niger state on November 21.

On Sunday, the federal government announced the release of the schoolchildren two weeks after their abduction.

The bandits, who invaded the school on November 21 at about 2 a.m. on motorbikes, initially took away 315 persons, including 303 students and 12 teachers, in an operation that lasted three hours.

Subsequently, 50 pupils escaped within the first 24 hours, while 265 abductees, including all 12 teachers, remained in captivity until the latest development.

The rescue followed intensified military operations, aerial surveillance across Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states, and the deployment of community hunters in the forests.

However, 153 students and 12 teachers are still in the custody of the bandits.

Prior to the release of the 100 students, Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), said the abducted children were in good condition and would soon be reunited with their families.

“Mr. President is in pain; he is in sorrow just like all of us. He stopped everything he was doing; he was supposed to travel but he suspended his journey,” Ribadu said.

“Enough is enough. We will not be relentless in our efforts. We are all under attack. Let us not allow bad people to divide us; let us not allow evil to get into us.

“Many good people from all over the world are coming to support us, including the United States of America.

“We appreciate everyone, especially European countries like France, the United Kingdom and a couple of others. The whole world is coming together to stop and defeat this evil which has been going on in Nigeria for two decades.”