NAIROBI, Kenya– Nigeria has secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Niger state—offering a glimmer of relief in a crisis that has gripped the country for weeks.
But with 165 students and staff still unaccounted for, attention is now shifting to what comes next, and how the government will confront one of the worst mass abductions in recent years.
A Breakthrough, but Far From Closure
The children, taken in late November when gunmen stormed St. Mary’s co-educational school, arrived in Abuja on Sunday, according to a United Nations source who spoke to AFP. They are expected to be handed over to Niger state officials on Monday.
The abduction sparked immediate comparisons to the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping, given the scale and the shock that swept the nation.
Out of the 315 students and staff initially seized, about 50 managed to escape early on—leaving roughly 265 missing. The release of 100 marks the first significant breakthrough.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare confirmed the development, calling it a welcome relief. Yet Church officials who run the school say they have not received official communication, leaving families in a painful holding pattern.
The St. Mary’s abduction landed at a time when Nigeria was already reeling from a wave of November kidnappings—Muslim schoolgirls, church worshippers, farmers, women, children, even a bride and her bridal party were taken across multiple states.
Kidnapping for ransom, once sporadic, has hardened into a full-fledged criminal industry. A recent SBM Intelligence report estimates that kidnappers raked in $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
Authorities have yet to identify the group behind the St. Mary’s operation. Nigeria continues to battle jihadist insurgents in the northeast, armed “bandit” networks in the northwest, deadly farmer–herder conflicts in central states, and separatist unrest in the southeast. Both Christian and Muslim communities have been victims.
Complicating matters further is the diplomatic spotlight from Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed Christian communities in Nigeria are facing “genocide”—a characterization Nigerian officials and analysts reject.
Some experts warn that such rhetoric could unintentionally embolden armed groups seeking global attention.
What Comes Next?
As security agencies continue the search for the remaining 165 captives, analysts say several armed groups may now be trying to hold abductees as potential human shields, especially amid reports of U.S. surveillance flights over jihadist strongholds in the north.
For families waiting for news, each update is a mix of hope and devastation—relief for the 100 freed, fear for those still missing, and mounting frustration over a crisis that shows no sign of slowing.
The rescue has offered Nigeria a momentary lift, but the bigger question—how to dismantle an entrenched kidnapping economy—remains unanswered.
