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Authorities in Nigeria have announced the successful release of the remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted in a mass kidnapping at a Catholic school last week.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: Earlier this month, armed gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School, a co-educational boarding school located in the rural village of Papiri in Nigeria. The attackers abducted a total of 303 students and 12 staff members in an overnight raid, targeting children as young as 10 years old while they slept. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) initially reported that 315 individuals were unaccounted for following the attack. In the immediate aftermath, 50 students managed to escape and return to their families, but the rest were taken deep into remote areas, prompting national and international alarm over the growing trend of mass kidnappings in the region. In the days that followed, more were released after authorities secured their release.
What’s going on now: Nigerian authorities confirmed on Sunday that the final group of 130 abducted students and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School had been released, officially bringing the entire ordeal to a close. Presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare announced that “none [are] left in captivity.” While exact details of the operation remain classified, government officials have avoided confirming whether a ransom was paid or what negotiations, if any, took place.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, Nigerian security experts and officials attribute the attack to well-organized criminal “bandit” networks, rather than insurgent groups like Boko Haram. These gangs have turned mass abductions into a lucrative business, exploiting Nigeria’s rural terrain and weak security infrastructure.
The announcement of the release came amid rising international scrutiny. In recent months, President Trump ramped up rhetoric accusing Nigeria of orchestrating a “genocide” against Christians. Nigerian officials have pushed back against the claims, saying the President is pushing “misinformation.”
