Nigeria says it has secured the release of 100 children

About 100 children kidnapped from a Catholic school in central Nigeria last month have been released, authorities said.

Niger state police chief Adamu Abdullahi Elleman and Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who is in charge of the school as leader of the local Catholic community, both told the BBC they had received confirmation of the students’ release.

They said the government’s national security adviser’s office had informed them that the children would be reunited with their parents starting Monday.

More than 250 students and 12 staff have been abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, the latest in a wave of mass kidnappings that have shocked the country.

Details surrounding the release of the 100 schoolchildren remain unclear, including whether they were freed through negotiation or force and whether a ransom was paid.

Abdullahi Sule, the governor of neighboring Nasarawa state, told local media that the federal government played a key role in securing their release, adding that the efforts behind the scenes could not be revealed for security reasons.

Last week, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu visited Papiri and met with a delegation led by Bishop Yohana, assuring them that the children would soon be rescued and reunited with their families.

Schools and places of worship are increasingly being targeted in the latest wave of attacks in northern and central Nigeria.

The attack on St. Mary’s Church on November 21 was preceded by large-scale kidnappings: on November 18, an attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State left two people dead and 38 abducted; the day before, two people were killed and 25 Muslim students were abducted at the Government Girls Secondary School in Kebbi State.

All those arrested in the Kwara and Kebbi attacks have been released.

Last week, gunmen kidnapped at least 20 people in two attacks: a pastor, his wife and some worshipers at a newly founded church in central Kogi state; and a bride and her bridesmaid in the mainly Muslim northern state of Sokoto.

It is unclear who is behind the kidnappings – most analysts believe they are carried out by criminal gangs seeking ransom. However, the presidential spokesman Earlier told the BBC the government believed they were the work of jihadist groups.

Paying ransoms has been made illegal in Nigeria to reduce the funding available to kidnapping gangs, but it is widely believed that in many cases ransoms are still handed over.

Nigeria’s security crisis drew international attention last month when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “continue to allow the killing of Christians” if the government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”

Nigerian officials and analysts say members of all faiths have been victims of violence and kidnapping, and say there is no truth to claims that Christians are being targeted.