Nigeria secures release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from Catholic school after weeks in captivity

The government of Nigeria has secured the release of the 100 schoolchildren who were abducted last month, according to local media. The children were taken from St. Mary's School in Papiri, Niger State, on Nov. 21. The release was announced by local broadcaster Channels Television on Sunday. The news comes as Christians continue to face persecution in Nigeria, which has led President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a "country of particular concern." In November, the BBC reported that as many as 303 children were kidnapped from the school, citing the superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), Mary Barron. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS EFFORTS TO STOP CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE IN Nigeria WITH AID THREAT The nun said the students were "tiny," and as young as 6 years old. According to Barron, 50 of the students escaped over that weekend. "They said they walked and walked, because they knew they couldn't walk back to the school, so they just kept walking until they found something familiar," she said. ALL 24 KIDNAPPED NIGERIAN SCHOOLGIRLS RESCUED AFTER ARMED ATTACK IN KEBBI, PRESIDENT SAYS Two hundred fifty-three students and 12 teachers are currently in captivity. It is unclear how many will be held after the release goes through. Soon after the kidnappings, Trump told Fox News Radio that the Nigerian government had "done nothing" to stop the killings. "I’m really angry about it," he said on Nov. 23. "What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace." At the time, War Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Nigerian national security advisor Nuhu Ribadu and discussed cutting off aid to Nigeria if it "continues to allow the killing of Christians." "Hegseth emphasized the need for Nigeria to demonstrate commitment and take both urgent and enduring action to stop violence against Christians and conveyed the Department’s desire to work by, with, and through Nigeria to deter and degrade terrorists that threaten the United States," the Pentagon said in a statement. Reuters and Fox News Digital's Rachel Wolf, Stephen Sorace and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.