ne of the 100 pupils recently freed from captivity after the mass abduction at St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State has described harrowing conditions endured while held by their captors: they were forced to sleep beside a river on tarpaulins and warned to keep silent under threat of death if they made noise.
The pupils said that at various points during the two-week abduction period, armed men changed their hiding spots frequently a tactic believed to be meant to evade security-force raids. Captors reportedly gave them tarpaulins to lie on and strict orders not to speak.
The rescue of the 100 children was announced by the federal and Niger state governments on 7–8 December 2025. The group had originally kidnapped 315 people 303 students and 12 teachers from the boarding school on 21 November. Fifty pupils reportedly escaped within the first 24 hours.
Authorities say the freed children were recovered from a forest hideout in Wawa Forest, following a coordinated security operation.
Many parents have reacted with deep relief mixed with lingering anxiety over the remaining hostages: as of now, approximately 165 persons (students and staff) are still unaccounted for.
A psychological and medical assessment will reportedly be carried out for the rescued children before reuniting them with their families a measure underscoring concerns over trauma, displacement, and the toll of their terrifying ordeal while in captivity.
The survivors’ testimony sleeping outdoors beside a river, under constant threat of violence, unsure of when or if they would ever go home has reignited national and international outrage over the country’s worsening school-kidnapping crisis and renewed calls for urgent, structural reforms to protect children and ensure school safety.
