NIGER GOVERNOR WELCOMES 100 STUDENTS RESCUED FROM KIDNAPPERS
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By: Muftau Fatimo
Approximately 100 schoolchildren, abducted last month from a Catholic school in Niger State, have been received by the state governor. They were handed over to government officials today, following their release by security authorities yesterday.
The children many wearing football jerseys and girls in long robes were driven into the Niger State Government House in white buses escorted by a dozen military vans and armoured vehicles.
The students, who were abducted two weeks ago, were released last night through the intervention of the federal government.
Dozens of the 315 students and staff taken from the school in north-central Niger State remain missing, while 50 others managed to escape shortly after the raid.
“Welcome,” said state governor Umar Bago as he shook hands with some of the children and escorted them into a hall where the emir and local officials were seated to receive them.
According to a list of the released students obtained by AFP, most of those freed are between 10 and 17 years old, though the school also accommodates children as young as nursery age.
It remains unclear who abducted the children from their boarding school in the remote Papiri village or the circumstances surrounding the release of the 100 students.
While kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria as a means for criminals and armed groups to generate quick cash, a series of mass abductions in November has drawn renewed attention to the country’s already serious security challenges.
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