Several parents welcomed the return late Tuesday night of their children, who were abducted last month when gunmen stormed their school.
A group of Nigerian students returned back to their home on Tuesday night after being rescued from kidnappers after being abducted last month. The gunmen stormed into St Mary’s boarding school and did mass kidnappings on November 21 kidnapping over 300 students which led to the biggest fear in the country over decades.
“It has not been easy for me… But today, in fact, I have a little bit of joy, especially because there is still one abducted. But I am now happy with this one that I have gotten,” Luka Illaya, one of the parents in the hall, told The Associated Press. One of his sons was released, while another remains with the abductors.
Parents gathered in large numbers to take their children after their release. After the release and welcome return children tightly hugged their parents.
Over 300 students were abducted
The Papiri school abductions, where more than 300 students and staff were taken, was the latest in a string of mass abductions that have rocked Nigeria in the past decade.
The government did not release any details about the released Papiri students and the fate of at least 150 other children and staff who remain in captivity. Fifty of the students escaped in the hours following the abductions.
“We thank all the security agencies that helped in the rescue of our children. We are pleading that God should give them more strength to be able to rescue the remaining children,” Reverend Sister Felicia Gyang, the principal of the school, said.
No ransoms to kidnappers
The Nigerian government routinely denies it pays ransoms to kidnappers.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on X earlier this week called on security agencies and governors to do more to protect children from falling into the hands of abductors, saying students “should no longer be sitting ducks.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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