A final group of 130 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren freed by the government on Sunday are expected to be reunited with their families in the central Niger state on Monday, ending a month-long ordeal that drew global concern. Last month, unknown gunmen took an estimated 215 schoolchildren and 12 teachers from St Mary’s Catholic school, Papiri community in Niger state, which runs west from the capital, Abuja, to neighbouring Benin. “Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” the presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare posted on X on Sunday. The abundance of non-state actors has left rural areas particularly vulnerable, and Nigeria’s under-equipped security agencies continue to be stretched. The deteriorating security situation has led to the US president, Donald Trump, to threaten military action in Nigeria.

Source: The Guardian December 22, 2025 12:11 UTC