Nigerian children reunite with their parents after being released from abduction

PAPIRI, Nigeria (AP) — Several parents welcomed the return late Tuesday night of their children, who were abducted last month when gunmen stormed their school.

“It has not been easy for me… But today, in fact, I have a little bit of joy, especially because there is still one abducted. But I am now happy with this one that I have gotten,” Luka Illaya, one of the parents in the hall, told The Associated Press. One of his sons was released, while another remains with the abductors.

His son, who hugged him tightly, is one of the 100 students released over the weekend after they were abducted from a Nigerian Catholic school on Nov. 21.

The Papiri school abductions, where more than 300 students and staff were taken, was the latest in a string of mass abductions that have rocked Nigeria in the past decade. Days earlier, 25 students were also abducted in nearby Kebbi state.

The government did not release any details about the released Papiri students and the fate of at least 150 other children and staff who remain in captivity. Fifty of the students escaped in the hours following the abductions.

“We thank all the security agencies that helped in the rescue of our children. We are pleading that God should give them more strength to be able to rescue the remaining children,” Reverend Sister Felicia Gyang, the principal of the school, said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Analysts say school children are a target for armed groups seeking a high ransom from the government and communities. Such abductions have often commanded national and international attention, with the pope last month calling for the release of the Papiri students in a Sunday address from the Vatican.

Since 2014, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok, there have been at least a dozen mass school abductions with at least 1,799 students kidnapped, according to an AP tally.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on X earlier this week called on security agencies and governors to do more to protect children from falling into the hands of abductors, saying students “should no longer be sitting ducks.”