Nigeria secures release of 100 kidnapped children, reports say

At least 153 students and 12 teachers taken from a Catholic school last month remain in captivity.Published On 8 Dec 2025Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 children who were among hundreds kidnapped from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria last month, officials and local media have reported.The 100 children arrived in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and are set to be handed over to local government officials in Niger State on Monday, an unnamed United Nations source told the AFP news agency.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Is there a ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria?list 2 of 4Armed men kidnap 13 women in Nigeria’s latest abductionlist 3 of 4Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission says coup destroyed election resultslist 4 of 4From Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Somalis reject Trump’s bigoted remarksend of list“They are going to be handed over to Niger State government tomorrow,” the source told the AFP news agency.Nigeria’s The Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday that the rescued children were receiving medical evaluations and would be reunited with their families after a debriefing.Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare also confirmed reports to the AFP that 100 children were being freed.Armed gunmen kidnapped 303 students and 12 teachers from St Mary’s School in the Papiri community of Niger State’s Agwara district on November 21.They included both male and female students aged between 10 to 18 years, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).Fifty of the students escaped captivity in the days after they were kidnapped, returning home to their families. Following the release of 100 students on Sunday, 153 students and 12 teachers are believed to remain in captivity.Days earlier, gunmen abducted 25 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the neighbouring Kebbi State’s Maga town,170km (106 miles) away.“We have been praying and waiting for their return. If it is true, then it is a cheering news,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese, which runs the school.