…FG: “Not a Single Pupil is Left in Captivity”
By Franklin Adole
Relief, gratitude, and quiet celebration swept through Niger State on Sunday as the remaining 130 abducted students and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, were released, bringing a traumatic chapter to a close and reuniting all 230 victims with freedom.
The Niger State Police Command confirmed the development, describing it as the successful conclusion of weeks of sustained security operations following the mass abduction that shocked the nation.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed in a statement issued in Minna that the final batch of victims was released on Sunday, ending the ordeal of the students and staff who were taken from the school in Agwara Local Government Area on November 21.
According to him, the latest release involved 130 victims, including members of staff, and marked the full recovery of everyone abducted during the incident. He assured the public that the police would continue to update them as necessary.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalled that the first batch of about 100 students had been rescued on December 8, following coordinated security operations. Governor Umar Bago later received the freed students through the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, and commended the NSA and other security agencies for what he described as gallant and painstaking efforts.
The Federal Government also confirmed the rescue, declaring that no pupil from St. Mary’s Catholic School remains in captivity. In a statement signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, fnipr, the government described the rescue of the remaining children and staff as a fitting end to the year and a reaffirmation of the nation’s resolve to protect its people.
“As it is, the Federal Government can confirm that all the abducted pupils of the Catholic School, Papiri, numbering 230, have been freed. Not a single pupil is left in captivity,” the minister said, adding that the rescued children were being handed over to the Niger State Government ahead of their reunion with their families.
The minister said the government empathised deeply with parents and guardians over the agony caused by the abduction, wished them peaceful family reunions, emotional healing, and a joyful festive season, and described the successful operation as a courageous effort by Nigeria’s security forces.
For the families of Papiri, weeks of fear and uncertainty have finally given way to tears of relief, as children once feared lost return home—alive, free, and in time for Christmas.