MINNA, Nigeria — Niger State officials said 100 children abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in the Papiri community were released Monday after more than two weeks in captivity. The Nigeria schoolchildren freed are undergoing medical and psychological checks as security forces hunt for the remaining students and 12 teachers still missing, Dec. 8, 2025.
Nigeria schoolchildren freed: what we know so far
The release marks the biggest breakthrough since gunmen stormed the Catholic boarding school before dawn Nov. 21, hauling away 303 students and 12 teachers. About 50 children escaped in the first hours, but hundreds vanished into the bush, leaving families to brace for another long, quiet wait.
Government officials have not publicly explained whether the children were rescued in a raid, freed after negotiations, or released following ransom demands. A report by Al Jazeera said authorities promised to secure the freedom of those still held, but details of the operation have been closely guarded.
What is clear is how the first group came back: buses and military vehicles delivered the children to government officials at the Niger State Government House in Minna, who said health workers and counselors would screen them before they return home. The children were expected to reunite with families after medical checks, Reuters reported.
For the children, the fear is hard to shake. One freed student, Onyeka Chieme, told The Associated Press that the gunmen threatened them at the school gate: “They said if we ran, they would shoot us.”
President Bola Tinubu hailed the release as a sign Nigeria can push back, while urging security agencies to prevent repeat attacks. “Our children should no longer be sitting ducks for heartless terrorists,” Tinubu said in a statement carried by Channels Television.
How many are still held?
Official tallies vary, and some families say they are still waiting for a definitive list of who is home and who is not. The Nigeria schoolchildren freed so far are only part of the story as parents press officials for a clear accounting. Using the figures cited by state officials and church leaders — 315 taken, 50 escaping and 100 released — about 165 people may still be missing, including the 12 teachers.
Nigeria schoolchildren freed, but the work is unfinished
This latest case lands in a familiar, bitter timeline. A decade after the Chibok abduction, The Guardian reported how families are still searching for answers. Nigeria has also seen major school raids end with mass releases, including the Dapchi kidnapping in 2018, when most of the girls were returned, and the 2021 Jangebe abduction, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were freed.
Each case has its own backstory and perpetrators, but the effect on classrooms is the same: fear, disruption and an uneasy question about what comes next. For now, Papiri is split between relief that Nigeria schoolchildren freed are back in their parents’ arms and dread that dozens more are still out there, waiting for the next breakthrough.
