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At a Christmas reunion, families and villagers in north-central Nigeria cried and hugged schoolchildren who were held for a month after being captured in one of the biggest mass kidnappings in the country’s history.
130 schoolchildren and teachers were freed on Sunday and brought home to the Papiri community of Niger state late Wednesday, marking the last batch freed after the November 21 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri.
mothers With tearful eyes they hugged their children tightly, while other children were lifted high into the air, their faces glowing with joy, as the villagers called over them and examined them carefully to make sure they were unharmed.
Joseph Timothy, whose daughter, Rejoice, was among those freed, said, “This Christmas, since we are celebrating Christmas with our children, we are very happy. And this Christmas will be different from others.”
“I’m happy, I’m happy,” said Rita Marcus, who was reunited with her son, tears streaming down her face. “This happiness is too much.”
School kidnappings for ransom have become a major security issue in Africa’s most populous country.
Authorities previously said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were captured in the attack in Niger state, but later revised the number to 230, and said all had now been released, without saying how.
The school said most of the children were between 10 and 17 years old. One of the students, Onyeka Chime, earlier told The Associated Press that the gunmen threatened to shoot him during the attack.
Joseph Timothy said his family had to fear for their lives after the attack.
“Sometimes even if I’m sleeping with my wife, if we wake up, we’ll start thinking. We’ll start crying. When will we see our baby?” He said.