Empty beds in a student dormitory at St Mary’s Catholic School in the Kontagora Diocese.on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna
ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 19:10 pm (CNA).
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a UK-based human rights organization, has welcomed the release of 100 schoolchildren, who were among 303 children abducted on Nov. 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri community in Nigeria’s Niger State served by the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora.
In a press release shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, on Dec. 9, officials with the Christian group called on the Nigerian government to ensure that the children receive help after their trauma.
Nigerian authorities reportedly secured the release of the children on Dec. 7, although details of how this was achieved remain unclear.
Confirming the release to Catholic pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of the Kontagora Diocese said: “It is true. So far, 100 children have been released. We thank God for everything.”
In the press release emailed to ACI Africa on Dec. 9, Christian Solidarity Worldwide CEO Scot Bower expressed solidarity with the freed children and those close to them, saying: “We wish these students and their families a swift and full recovery from this traumatic ordeal, and urge the Nigerian authorities to do all they can to assist with this.”
He added, “Nigerian citizens have been terrorized by multiple armed non-state actors for far too long and require urgent, effective protection.”
Bower challenged the Nigerian government to “spare no effort” in securing the release of every citizen who is currently in captivity, including the remaining students and staff members from the Catholic schools.
He also appealed to authorities in Nigeria to address the country’s unprecedented security crisis decisively, sourcing international assistance “wherever possible and whenever necessary.”
A total of 153 students and 12 staff members remained in captivity as of Dec. 7.
Armed gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Niger State, abducting 239 nursery and primary school children, 14 secondary school children, and 12 staff members from the private boarding school.
The subsequent deaths of two parents — Anthony Musa, the father of three young abductees, and a mother of other children known only as Esther — have been attributed to trauma caused by the abductions.
In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, who has introduced a resolution addressing the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and recently visited the nation, commended the Dec. 7 rescue, which he described as “a positive demonstration of the government’s increasing response to the security situation.”
Moore added that he had discussed “concrete steps and actions” which he said “if fully executed … will enhance security across the country for all Nigerians, disrupt and destroy terrorist organizations in the North-East and stop the killing of Christians … particularly in the Middle Belt of the country.”
Nigeria is in the midst of an unprecedented and multifaceted security crisis, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported, adding that while the violence occurring in central areas — including Benue, southern Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Plateau and Taraba — bears a distinct religious nature, in northwestern areas such as Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara and the northern part of Kaduna State, the violence generally unfolds along ethnic lines.
This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
