Nigeria’s government secures release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren

The fate of dozens of other pupils and staff remains unclear as the country buckles under a wave of mass abductions

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Worried parents of abducted schoolchildren at St Mary’s Catholic school last month. Photo: AP

Published: 5:40am, 8 Dec 2025Updated: 2:33pm, 8 Dec 2025

Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a UN source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of the 165 students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained unclear.

In late November, 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some 50 escaped shortly afterward, leaving 265 thought to be in captivity.

The 100 children have arrived in the capital Abuja and were set to be handed over to local government officials in Niger state on Monday, according to the United Nations source.

“They are going to be handed over to Niger state government tomorrow,” the source told Agence France-Presse.

Local media also reported that the release of 100 children had been secured, without offering details on whether it was done through negotiation or military force - nor on the fate of the remaining students and staff thought to still be in the kidnappers’ hands.

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