(DDM) – The remaining 115 students of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, are set to be reunited with their families on Monday following their release from captivity.
The students, alongside their teachers, were formally handed over to a security team from the Office of the National Security Adviser on Sunday evening after being assembled from several camps where they had been held.
DDM gathered that the children were kept in different locations, which delayed their final evacuation despite earlier plans for a coordinated handover.
Security sources disclosed that an evacuation team had earlier moved to an agreed boundary point between Lumma and Banana on Saturday to receive the children.
However, the handover was eventually concluded later on Saturday evening and extended into Sunday due to logistical challenges arising from their dispersal across multiple holding sites.
A source close to the host community revealed that the final handover of the 115 students took place at about 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The children were immediately transported under heavy armed security to Minna, the Niger State capital.
They are expected to be officially handed over to the Niger State Government before being reunited with their families.
The release of the remaining students comes nearly one month after the horrific abduction that shook the state and the nation.
On November 21, 2025, armed terrorists stormed the Catholic missionary school at about 2:00 a.m. and operated unhindered for almost three hours.
During the attack, a total of 315 persons, including students and teachers, were abducted from the school premises.
Out of this number, 303 were students while 12 were teachers.
Within 24 hours of the attack, 50 students managed to escape from their captors and returned safely to their families.
This reduced the number of captives to 265, comprising 253 students and all 12 teachers.
Two weeks ago, security agencies successfully secured the release of 100 of the abducted children, who were subsequently reunited with their families.
Following that development, public attention shifted to the fate of the remaining 215 abductees still in captivity at the time.
The Federal Government responded to the crisis by imposing a 24-hour security lockdown across the affected area.
Wide-ranging aerial surveillance operations were also launched, covering parts of Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi States.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cancelled a scheduled international trip in order to personally oversee the rescue operations.
Niger State Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago equally suspended all official engagements and called off a planned holiday.
The governor also ordered statewide prayers for the safe return of the abducted children.
As part of emergency measures, all schools in Niger State and several federal institutions located in high-risk areas were temporarily shut down.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, later visited Kontagora with a federal government delegation.
During the visit, Ribadu met with the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, as well as distraught parents of the abducted students.
He assured them that the children were alive, stable, and would soon return home safely.
“God is with them and God is with us.
Evil will never win.
They are going to come back.
I give you that assurance,” Ribadu told the gathering.
Although no official statement has yet been issued confirming the release of the final batch, arrangements are reportedly underway to receive the children at the Government House in Minna on Monday.
Governor Bago is expected to formally receive the students before their reunification with family members.
DDM notes that the development has brought relief to families, religious leaders, and Nigerians nationwide who have followed the ordeal with deep concern.
The incident has once again highlighted the persistent security challenges facing schools in remote communities across northern Nigeria.