Nigerian authorities have successfully freed 100 of the hundreds of children kidnapped from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria last month, officials and local media reported.
An unnamed UN source told AFP that the 100 children had arrived in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and would be handed over to local government officials in Niger state on Monday.
“They will be handed over to the Niger state government tomorrow,” the source told AFP.
Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday that the rescued children were undergoing medical assessment and would be reunited with their families after a situation report.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare also confirmed the AFP report, saying 100 children had been released.
Armed gunmen kidnapped 303 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School in Papiri Community, Agwara District, Niger State November 21.
According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), these include male and female students aged between 10 and 18 years.
Fifty students escaped captivity and returned to their families in the days after their abduction. Following the release of 100 students on Sunday, 153 students and 12 teachers are believed to remain in custody.
Days earlier, gunmen abducted 25 female students from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the town of Maga in neighboring Kebbi state, 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.
“We have been praying and waiting for their return. If this is true, then this is exciting news,” said Daniel Artori, spokesman for Contagora Diocese Bishop Bruce Johnner, who runs the school.
“However, we are not officially aware of it and have not been formally notified by the federal government.”
this Latest kidnappings This is the worst abduction since more than 270 girls were abducted from school in Chibok town in 2014.
In total, more than 1,400 Nigerian students have been abducted in nearly a dozen separate incidents since 2014.
The latest kidnappings came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said Christians in Nigeria were under threat. facing genocidethis statement has been questioned local officials Christian groups say people from different faiths are caught up in ongoing violence in parts of the country.
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s foreign ministry, told Al Jazeera last month that people of all faiths were affected by the ongoing violence.
“We continue to make our point clear and we acknowledge that there are killings in Nigeria, but these killings are not limited to Christians. Muslims are being killed. Traditional worshipers are being killed,” Ebienfa said.
“Most people are not Christians.”
Trump has threatened military intervention in Nigeria, claiming the country has failed to protect Christians from persecution. He also threatened to cut aid to Nigeria.
Nigeria is a country with a population of over 200 million, divided into a predominantly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
The Pew Research Center estimates that Muslims make up 56% of Nigeria’s population, while Christians make up just over 43%.
The conflict involving armed groups is concentrated in the country’s majority-Muslim northeast and has been going on for more than 15 years.
