"Nigerian authorities say they have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, after 100 were freed earlier this month. Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity, presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said on X, in a post accompanied by a photo of smiling children. In late November, gunmen kidnapped hundreds of students and staff from St Mary's co-educational boarding school in the country's north-central Niger state."
"The exact number of people taken and how many have remained in captivity has been unclear since the kidnapping in the rural hamlet of Papiri. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that a total of 315 students and staff were kidnapped. Some 50 escaped immediately afterwards, and on 7 December the government secured the release of about 100 more."
"Though kidnappings for ransom are a common way for criminals and armed groups to make money, a spate of mass abductions in Nigeria has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the country's already grim security situation. In November, assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers and a bride and her bridesmaids, with male farm workers, women and children also taken hostage."
Nigerian authorities secured the release of an additional 130 pupils abducted from St Mary's co-educational boarding school in late November, after around 100 had been freed earlier. Presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare posted a photo of smiling children and said none remained in captivity. Initial reports and the Christian Association of Nigeria put total kidnapped at 315, with about 50 escaping immediately and roughly 100 freed on 7 December. The precise tally of students and staff taken and the identities of the captors have not been made public. A rising wave of mass abductions has intensified concerns about Nigeria's insecure environment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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