Niger State government and its officials were conspicuously absent on Monday when a federal government delegation led by National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu visited parents and management of St. Mary’s Catholic Missionary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area.
The absence may be linked to Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago’s stance that no students were abducted, claiming the children only ran into the bush in fear of sporadic gunfire and would soon return. He also contested the school’s reported number of missing students, saying the figures were overstated.
Despite the state government’s nonattendance, NSA Ribadu reassured anxious parents that all abducted students and staff are alive and will soon be reunited with their families. Addressing the crowd at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Kontagora, Ribadu said, “The children are alive and doing fine, and will be back soon.” He added that security has been intensified and efforts to rescue the children are ongoing, emphasizing the need for Nigerians to unite against those causing havoc in the country.
The federal delegation included the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Bernard Doro, DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi, and the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Northern Region, Rev. Joseph Hayab. Ribadu commended the school proprietor, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, for his patience and cooperation during the crisis.
Bishop Yohanna thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the NSA for their visit, noting that it gave hope to the anxious parents. The delegation later held a closed-door meeting with the school management and parents to discuss the incident, while the principal, Rev. Sister Felicia Gyang, and parent representative, Mr. Luka Iliya, shared accounts of the children’s ordeal and their current states of mind.