The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has confirmed that all pupils and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools, Papiri, in Niger State, have been rescued and reunited with their families.

The confirmation was made in a statement issued on Thursday by Rev. Fr. Bulus Yohanna, Proprietor of St. Mary’s Catholic Private Primary and Secondary School.

According to him, a total of 230 persons—comprising 204 pupils, 14 students and 12 staff members—were verified to have been abducted during the incident and were later rescued through the combined efforts of the Federal and Niger State governments, alongside security agencies.

Yohanna disclosed that all rescued children have since been reunited with their families, adding that there is no report indicating that any pupil or staff member remains missing.

He explained that immediately after the abduction on November 21, an initial headcount showed that 315 persons were unaccounted for.

However, on November 23, about 50 of those earlier listed as missing escaped and returned to their families, reducing the number of unaccounted persons to 265.

“A joint verification exercise involving the state government, security agencies and school authorities later revealed that not all parents were present during the exercise,” he said.

He added that a second and final verification conducted by the school authorities in collaboration with the Parents–Teachers Association showed that an additional 35 persons had either not been abducted or had escaped earlier.

“As a result, out of the initial 315 persons reported missing, 85 were confirmed to have either escaped or not been abducted, bringing the verified number of abducted persons to 230,” Yohanna stated.

He attributed the discrepancies in the initial figures to the chaotic nature of the incident, explaining that some pupils fled into nearby bushes and did not immediately return for the first headcount, while some parents were absent during verification.

Yohanna emphasised that the discrepancies were not intended to mislead the public but arose from the challenges of managing a fast-evolving and emotionally charged situation.
He expressed appreciation to the Federal and Niger State governments, security agencies, parents, the Christian community, the media and members of the public for their prayers, patience and support.

He also prayed for healing and full restoration for all affected pupils, staff and families.