Barely 24 hours after 100 schoolchildren, who were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State on November 21, were rescued, they were received by the state governor, Umar Bago, on Monday.

This was even as President Bola Tinubu has ordered security operatives to ensure the rescue of the remaining schoolchildren.

The children, many wearing football jerseys and girls in long robes, were driven into the Niger State Government House in white buses escorted by a dozen military vans and armoured vehicles.

The release of the students, who were kidnapped two weeks ago, was facilitated by the Federal Government last night.

Dozens of the 315 students and staff abducted from the school in north-central Niger state are still missing. 50 others escaped shortly after the raid.

“Welcome,” Bago said, as he shook hands with some of the children, and led them into a hall where the emir and local officials were seated to receive them.

According to a list of the released children seen by AFP, most of those freed are aged between 10 and 17 years.

The school catered for children as young as nursery school age.

It is unclear who seized the children from their boarding school in remote rural Papiri village or the circumstances surrounding the release of the 100.

Though kidnappings for ransom are common as a way for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash, a spate of mass abductions in November put an uncomfortable spotlight on Nigeria’s already grim security situation.

Earlier, Tinubu, who welcomed the release of abducted students, directed security agencies to secure the immediate freedom of the remaining 115 pupils and their teachers still in captivity.

“I rejoice with Governor Umar Bago and commend our security agencies for their steadfast work. My directive remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians must be rescued and brought back home safely. We must account for all the victims,” Tinubu said in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Tinubu said the Federal Government is working with the Niger State Government to reunite the children with their families and to strengthen security around schools nationwide.

“From now on, our security agencies, working with the governors, must prevent future kidnappings. Our children should no longer be sitting ducks for heartless terrorists,” he added.

The Papiri attack occurred on November 21 when gunmen stormed the St. Mary’s Catholic School compound at daybreak, abducting more than 200 children and staff.

The latest rescue brings the number of those freed to 100, with 115 still held, Tinubu noted.

Mass school abductions have plagued Nigeria since Boko Haram seized 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014, triggering a wave of copy-cat kidnappings for ransom.

Niger State has suffered repeated attacks, including the February 2021 Kagara abduction of students and staff, while recent weeks have seen coordinated raids on schools and worship centres in Kebbi and Kwara states.

In his declaration of a security emergency on November 26, Tinubu ordered a surge of operations to protect schools, farms and places of worship, insisting service chiefs coordinate closely with state governments.

According to Onanuga, those efforts contributed to Monday’s release and would be intensified until all the Papiri hostages are rescued.

“The Federal Government will continue to work with Niger State and other states to secure our schools and make the learning environment safer and more conducive,” Tinubu affirmed.