President Tinubu Welcomes The Return Of 100 Catholic Students

President Bola Tinubu on Monday, December 8, 2025, commended Nigerian security agencies for
securing the release of 100 students abducted from the St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, in Niger State,
while simultaneously issuing a strict directive to ensure the swift and safe return of the remaining
hostages.

The students were among a large group of 315 pupils and staff initially seized by armed bandits who
attacked the co-educational boarding school in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area, in
the early hours of Friday, November 21, 2025. Approximately 50 students had escaped in the hours
following the attack.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President
Tinubu expressed profound relief and joy over the development, describing the security agencies’
efforts as “steadfast work.”

While celebrating the successful rescue, the President confirmed that 115 students and their teachers
still remained in captivity. He charged the security agencies to intensify their operations until every
single person abducted is accounted for and returned home safely.
“My directive to our security forces remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians across
the country must be rescued and brought back home safely. We must account for all the victims,”
President Tinubu said.

He further gave a strong mandate to security operatives, working in synergy with state governors, to
prevent future mass abductions, asserting that Nigerian children “should no longer be sitting ducks for
heartless terrorists intent on disrupting their education and subjecting them and their parents to
unspeakable trauma.”

The President assured the parents and families that both the Federal Government and the Niger State
Government, led by Governor Umar Bago, are collaborating closely to ensure the eventual reunion of all
the abducted students with their loved ones.
The released 100 pupils arrived at the Niger State Government House in the capital, Minna, on Monday,
December 8, 2025, where they were officially received by Governor Umar Bago.

The students were formally handed over to the state government by the Office of the National Security
Adviser (ONSA), after which they were scheduled to undergo thorough medical and psychological
examinations before being reunited with their families in Papiri.
The mass abduction incident in Niger State was part of a recent wave of school kidnappings across
North-Western Nigeria in November 2025.

By Oyinkansola Shittu

thewyreng