Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a United Nations source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of another 165 pupils and staff thought to remain in captivity remains unclear.
In November, 315 pupils and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Papiri 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 soon after, leaving 265 thought to be in captivity.
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The 100 children are set to be handed over to local government officials in Niger state on Monday, according to the UN source.
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. There were no details on the fate of the remaining pupils and staff thought to still be in the kidnappers’ hands.
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The freeing of the 100 children was confirmed to Agence France-Presse by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.