In a huge relief for families across Nigeria and beyond, on Sunday, December 21, 2025, the government announced that all remaining schoolchildren and staff abducted from St. Mary's Catholic boarding school in Niger State have been released. It marks the end of one of the country's largest mass kidnappings in recent years.
The ordeal began in the early hours of November 21, 2025, when gunmen stormed the rural Papiri campus and seized more than 300 students and teachers. In the chaos, at least 50 students managed to escape on their own, while security forces rescued another 100 on December 8.
With the final group of 130 students arriving in Minna on Monday, December 22, reunions with families are unfolding just in time for Christmas 🎄👨👩👧👦. President Bola Tinubu's team described the push to free the children as a 'military-intelligence driven' effort.
From Dhaka to Jakarta, young adults are celebrating this outcome as proof that resolve and coordinated action can bring hope to even the darkest moments ✨🙌.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
