Nearly 100 schoolchildren abducted last month from a Catholic boarding school in Niger State were expected to reunite with their parents on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the school’s owners.
Gatekeepers News reports that the children were released more than two weeks after being seized by armed gangs in one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings in recent years. The federal government in Abuja facilitated their release and handed them over to the local authorities in Minna, the state capital, on Monday.
On Tuesday, the children were transported under heavy security on a day-long journey back to their remote community of Papiri.
“This morning the children were escorted to Kontagora,” about three hours from Papiri, said Daniel Atori, spokesperson for the church association that runs the school, in an interview with AFP.
“They will be taken to Papiri where they will be reunited with the families.”
The attack occurred amid a resurgence of mass abductions resembling the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said in late November that 315 students and staff were abducted from St. Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger State.
Authorities have yet to announce any arrests or explain the circumstances of the children’s release. It also remains unclear how many hostages are still being held.
While around 50 students escaped during the initial attack, roughly 165 were believed to remain captive before Monday’s release. However, a statement from President Bola Tinubu on Monday put the number at 115.
An official from an international charity criticised the speed with which the children were transported back to their village, saying they were not given the mental and psychological support typically required after traumatic captivity.
“They wouldn’t even wait for the results of the laboratory tests conducted on the children to come out to determine which among them need urgent medical assistance,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The Niger State government had earlier stated that the children would undergo medical screening before being reunited with their families.
