The Federal Government has successfully secured the release of 100 primary and secondary school pupils who were abducted by armed bandits from the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Kunnu, Kagara area of Niger State on Thursday, 4 December 2025.

The children – comprising 68 primary school pupils and 32 junior secondary students – were freed in the early hours of Sunday following sustained military and security operations coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the Niger State Government and local community leaders.

A senior presidency source confirmed to journalists in Abuja that no ransom was paid for the release of the victims, describing the operation as “a decisive victory for the ongoing campaign against terrorism and banditry in the North-West and North-Central zones.

”The source added: “Through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including intense pressure from ground troops of Operation Whirl Punch and intelligence-led engagements, the abductors were forced to release the children unharmed.

All 100 students have been accounted for and are currently undergoing medical checks and debriefing at a secure military facility in Minna.

”The students were kidnapped in a dawn raid on the mission school last Thursday when over 50 heavily armed gunmen stormed the premises, overpowered the guards, and herded the pupils into waiting vehicles before fleeing into the vast Kunnu forest spanning Niger and Kaduna states.

The incident had triggered widespread national outrage and renewed calls for decisive action against the escalating wave of school abductions in northern Nigeria.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who personally received the freed children alongside the Emir of Kagara, Alhaji Salihu Tanko, praised the Federal Government and security forces for their swift response.“I am overjoyed to see our children back alive and in good health.

This is a testament that when all tiers of government and our traditional institutions work together with the security agencies, we can defeat these criminals,” Governor Bago said.

Parents and relatives who had camped at the school premises since Thursday broke into jubilation as the first batch of the rescued pupils arrived under heavy military escort on Sunday afternoon.

The Apostolic Faith Church, which runs the school, issued a brief statement thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the armed forces, and all Nigerians for their prayers and support.

Mop-up operations are still ongoing in the forest to apprehend the fleeing abductors and prevent further attacks during the festive season.

This latest mass rescue comes barely two weeks after 28 students of the Federal College of Agriculture, Bakura, Zamfara State, regained freedom, bringing the total number of schoolchildren freed by security forces in the past one month to over 220.

The Federal Government has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy on ransom payments and vowed to sustain the current momentum until every abducted citizen is brought home safely.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the swearing-in ceremony of President Alassane Ouattara for his fourth term in office.

The inauguration is scheduled for Monday, 8 December 2025, at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan, where Senator Shettima will join other African heads of state, government leaders, and international dignitaries.

President Ouattara secured re-election in the 25 October 2025 presidential poll, extending his leadership of the West African nation, which enjoys long-standing and robust diplomatic ties with Nigeria.

Upon arrival at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Vice President Shettima was received by Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister, Mr. Robert Mambe; Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs. Item Akpama; and other senior Ivorian and Nigerian officials.

The visit underscores Nigeria’s continued commitment to regional solidarity, democratic governance, and constitutional order in West Africa. It also highlights the strong bilateral partnership between Abuja and Abidjan, anchored on cooperation within ECOWAS and the African Union, the Nigeria-Côte d’Ivoire Bi-National Commission, and multiple sectoral agreements spanning security, trade, agriculture, anti-human trafficking efforts, and the digital economy.

A sizeable Nigerian community in Côte d’Ivoire continues to play a vital role in deepening people-to-people and commercial links between the two countries.Vice President Shettima is expected to return to Abuja immediately after the inauguration ceremony.

The Nigerian Army has indefinitely suspended all statutory and voluntary retirements for hundreds of officers, citing the nationwide security emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu on November 26.

The directive, contained in an internal memo dated December 3 and signed by Maj. Gen. E. I. Okoro on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, aims to preserve critical manpower and experience as the Armed Forces rapidly expand to tackle escalating insecurity.

November saw over 600 mass abductions, including more than 300 schoolchildren in Niger State, 38 worshippers in Kwara State, and 25 students in Kebbi State, among numerous others.

Invoking Paragraph 3.10(e) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (Officers) 2024, the Army has halted retirements for officers who:

– Have reached the age ceiling for their rank

– Have completed 35 years of service

– Failed promotion examinations or conversion boards three times

– Were passed over for promotion three times.

Affected officers may apply to continue serving, but those granted extensions will be ineligible for further promotions, courses, secondments, or extra-regimental postings.

Commanders have been ordered to widely disseminate the policy, manage troop morale, and assure personnel that the suspension will be reviewed once the security situation stabilises.

The retirement freeze is the latest in a series of emergency measures following President Tinubu’s directive for the military, police, and intelligence agencies to significantly boost recruitment and deployment.