The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has confirmed that all students and teachers abducted from St Mary’s co-educational Boarding School in Papiri, Niger State, in November have been “accounted for” and safely reunited with their families.
The clarification, issued Thursday, comes amid lingering confusion over the number of schoolchildren initially reported missing, a controversy that arose after the federal government concluded its rescue efforts.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported that 315 students and staff were kidnapped in the raid. Some 50 students reportedly escaped immediately, while the government secured the release of about 100 on December 7 and 130 more on December 21, prompting a presidential spokesperson to declare that “none [were] left in captivity.”
Despite these announcements, questions arose over discrepancies between CAN’s figures and those provided by the federal government, with about 35 students believed to be still unaccounted for.
According to Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora, the apparent mismatch resulted from logistical and procedural challenges during the headcount.
“Immediately after the incident, a headcount was conducted, and a total of 315 persons were initially unaccounted for,” Yohanna said. “By Sunday, 23 November 2025, it was confirmed that 50 of those earlier listed as unaccounted for had escaped and been reunited with their parents, reducing the number to 265.”
The bishop explained that the remaining 35 students later turned up during a second round of headcounts. Some had fled into nearby bushes and did not return before the initial count, while others were not presented by their parents for verification.
The diocese added that reaching students’ homes in scattered rural communities, sometimes requiring three to four hours of travel by motorbike, contributed to the delay, according to a United Nations source.
Yohanna insisted that the discrepancies were unintentional and arose from “genuine difficulties encountered in a rapidly evolving, highly sensitive, and emotionally charged situation,” adding that there was no attempt to mislead the public or cause panic.
The clarification effectively reconciles the figures provided by CAN, school authorities, and government sources, confirming that all 315 students and staff involved in the abduction have now been safely accounted for.
