Fresh assurance has come from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who says the pupils and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwarra LGA of Niger State are safe and will soon be reunited with their families.
Giving an update during a solidarity visit to the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and proprietor of the school, Bulus Yohanna, Ribadu said intelligence reports show that “the children are doing fine and will be back soon.”
Relief spread after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed that at least 50 of the abducted pupils had earlier escaped from captivity following the November 21 attack, during which gunmen whisked away 315 people — 303 students and 12 staff.
Expressing empathy with the school community, Ribadu said the federal government takes full responsibility for the tragic incident, adding that President Bola Tinubu is deeply disturbed by the development.
“This is a difficult moment for all of us. Mr President is in pain; he suspended his planned trip because of this incident,” the NSA said, according to a statement issued by the diocese.
Warning against further criminal attacks, Ribadu declared that the government would no longer allow bandits to terrorise communities or destabilise the country.
“We are all under attack, but enough is enough. We will not relent in our efforts. Let us not allow bad people to divide us,” he said.
He also revealed that Nigeria is receiving strong backing from global partners in its fight against terrorism and banditry, noting the support of countries such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
Earlier, Bishop Yohanna thanked President Tinubu for the government’s intervention and submitted a formal report of the incident to the NSA before they went into a closed-door meeting that lasted about 30 minutes.
