Emerging reports say the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has confirmed that all children and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools, Papiri in Niger, have been rescued and reunited with their families.
Bulus Yohanna, Catholic Diocese of Kontagora and Properitor of St. Mary Catholic Private Primary and Secondary School, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.
According to him, a total of 230 persons comprising 12 staff members, 14 students and 204 pupils were verified to have been abducted and later rescued through the efforts of the Federal and Niger State governments, as well as security agencies.
He added that all rescued children had been reunited with their families, revealing that no report had been received indicating that any child remained missing.
Yohanna explained that immediately after the abduction on November 21, an initial headcount showed that 315 persons were unaccounted for.
He further noted that on November 23, 50 of those earlier listed as missing had escaped and returned to their parents, reducing the number of unaccounted persons to 265.
Yohanna said out of the initial 315 persons reported missing, 85 were confirmed to have either escaped or not been abducted, bringing the verified number of abducted persons to 230.
He admitted that discrepancies recorded during the initial headcount were due to the chaotic nature of the incident.
Yohanna noted that some pupils fled into nearby bushes and did not immediately return for the first headcount, while some parents were absent during verification.
He stressed that the discrepancies were not intended to mislead the public but were the result of challenges associated with a fast-evolving and emotionally charged situation.
Yohanna expressed gratitude to the government and security agencies for their intervention, as well as to parents, the Christian community, the media and the public for their prayers, patience and support.
Abducted Children, Staff from Catholic School Niger Reunited with Families
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