38 Abducted Kwara Church Worshippers Released, Niger Students Who Escaped Captors Listed

Terrorists of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) have abducted 12 female teenagers in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the abduction, saying the victims were taken from their agricultural fields in Mussa district.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Daso, said the command had launched an investigation into the incident.

He said: “There was an abduction yesterday in Askira-Uba. Suspected Boko Haram members abducted 12 young females when they were returning from the farm.”

The PPRO, however, called for calm, saying security efforts were currently underway.

Meanwhile, Abdullahi, who represents the Askira-Uba constituency, said the 12 abductees, aged between 15 and 20, had gone to their farmland in the Mussa area to harvest crops when the assailants seized them.

He explained that both Huyim and Mussa were farming communities in Askira-Uba LGA, but the government had relocated the residents of Huyim to Mussa due to security concerns.

He said: “The victims are among those relocated to the relatively peaceful community of Mussa to earn their livelihoods through joint community farming.

“One of the victims managed to escape and was reunited with her family on Sunday morning, but the other 12 victims, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, are still in the custody of the abductors, whose whereabouts remain unknown.”

The Senator representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume, called on security agencies to intensify efforts to safely rescue the victims unharmed.

He appealed to people in the area to continue praying for the safe return of the 12 abducted teenagers, and to provide timely information to security agencies and relevant authorities about any suspected movement of terrorists in their respective communities.

Eruku Attack: 38 Church Worshippers Regain Freedom in Kwara

The 38 members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku, in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, who were abducted last Tuesday, have regained their freedom.

Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the hard work of the authorities had paid off.

The statement reads: “After many days of hard work by security forces and government representatives, HE AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is excited to announce the freedom of 38 persons who were recently abducted in an attack on Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku, Ekiti LGA, Kwara State.

“The governor says this is wholly due to the hands-on approach of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, who has personally led the efforts to free the abductees.

“The abductees were freed today, 23 November. The governor is immensely grateful to President Bola Tinubu for his direct initiative that made this happen.”

It noted that the president had called off his scheduled trip to the G20 meeting in South Africa to attend to the security breaches in Kwara and Kebbi states.

The governor also thanked the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency and the Nigeria Police, which had deployed four new tactical teams to Kwara State on the president’s directive.

A Reverend Sister, Felicia Gyam, and a teacher, Martha Mathias, both of St Mary Catholic School in Niger State—where scores of students and staff were kidnapped—have recounted how they escaped from their abductors.

LEADERSHIP reports that out of the many people kidnapped from the Niger Catholic School, 50 have escaped from the bandits.

Reverend Sister Gyam recalled that about five minutes after midnight, she and others heard the sound of motorcycles and cars around the school compound, and suddenly they began hearing knocks on the school gates while the children cried for help.

She said they immediately took some children into hiding within the school, and fortunately the bandits were unable to reach some of them.

She said: “We were confused, looking for the key to the other gates. We heard knocks and cries from other children. They came with many motorcycles, so what we did was to ensure that we found a way to take the children who were not in danger to a safe place.

“We could hear the security man running and saying something we could not hear clearly; they later drove off.”

Also recounting her ordeal, Martha Mathias, a teacher in the primary section whose husband was abducted, said the resilience of her daughter saved her from being taken.

Martha, who spoke to Lina TV online, said: “It was about 1am when we heard the cries of children calling for help. I was about to go out when my husband told me to lie down and wait for him to check, and he came back to say they were bandits.

“When they finished gathering the children, they now asked the children, ‘Where are your parents?’ The children told them that they didn’t have parents there; their parents were at home. They then asked where their teachers were, and the children pointed at the rooms. They began with the matron, went to her room, and then to ours. They tied my husband’s hands and carried him away.

“Later they came back and said that I should come out. I was about to come out when my child started crying. I told them to allow me to see her. When I was about to follow them, my daughter began screaming that she would follow Daddy and Mummy. They pointed a gun at her, but she insisted she must follow us. In the process, they said they should leave us. That was how they left us and took my husband with them.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, Most Rev Bulus Dauwa Yohanna—who is also the proprietor of the school and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese—disclosed that 50 of the 315 children abducted on Friday at St Mary Catholic School, Papiri, had escaped from captivity.

This revelation was given by Daniel Atori, media aide to Most Rev Yohanna.

It read: “This is to notify the public that as of Sunday, 23 November 2025, we have received some good news as 50 pupils escaped and have been reunited with their parents.

“The pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday and have been reunited with their parents, as they could not return to the school after they escaped. We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents.

“For the record, we now have 251 primary pupils, 14 secondary students and 12 teachers still with their abductors. In the primary section, out of the total number of 430 pupils in the school, 377 of them are boarders and the remaining 53 are non-boarders.

“Currently, aside from the 50 pupils that escaped and have returned home, we have 141 pupils who were not taken. As it stands now, we have 236 pupils, another three children belonging to our staff, 14 secondary students—making a total of 253 children—along with 12 members of staff, with the abductors.”

List Of Escaped Niger Students Released By Catholic Diocese of  Kotangora

1. Samson Bitrus
2. Emmanuel Francis
3. Amos Mathew
4. Timothy Peter
5. Ayuba Victor
6. Bulus Emmanuel
7. Caleb Hosea
8. Catherine Emmanuel
9. Christopher Ezekiel
10. Dominic Daniel
11. Dominic Elisha
12. Elisha Yakubu
13. Ezekiel Emmanuel
14. Ezekiel Joel
15. Ezekiel Pius
16. Ezra James
17. Bulus Samaila
18. Friday Joel
19. Gloria Jeremiah
20. Godiya Mathew
21. Iliya Philip
22. Ishaya David

23 Joseph Sunday

24. Julius Paul
25. Elisha Harunna
26. Justina Adamu
27. Keziah Musa
28. Lawrence James
29. Lawrence Yohanna
30. Marcus Bulus
31. Mariam Joshua
32. Mathew Dauda
33. Micah Luka
34. Michael Jacob
35. Musa Timothy
36. Naomi Bulus
37. Nicodemus Ibrahim
38. Peter Jonathan
39. Pricillia Peter
40. Emmuel Godwin
41. Samail Dauda
42. Stephen Anthony
43. Sunday Shedrack
44. Veronica Iliya
45. Victoria Ishaku
46. Vincent Emmanuel
47. Wisdom Fabian
48. Yakubu Saminu
49. Yunusa Musa
50. Yusuf Sunday