LAGOS: A Catholic diocese in Nigeria’s north-central region Thursday said that all schoolchildren and teachers taken by gunmen from their school in November have been “accounted for” and “reunited” with their families.
The clarification comes after some 35 students were initially thought to be unaccounted for after the government ended rescue efforts.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had said in November that 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St. Mary’s co-educational boarding school in Papiri, Niger State.
Some 50 escaped immediately afterwards, and on December 7 the government secured the release of around 100.
The Nigerian government announced the release of 130 more students on December 21, with a presidential spokesman saying: “None Left in Captivity.”
