Media Aide to the Proprietor of St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State,Daniel Atori, has said discrepancies remain over the exact number of students and staff abducted from the school, despite the release of 130 victims presented to the state government on Monday.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News Atori said while the federal government has assured that no one remains in captivity, the school authorities are proceeding cautiously until all released persons are formally received and verified by parents and guardians.
“At the time of the incident, 50 of them escaped, and we were left with 265 based on the figures we made available,” Atori said. “Two weeks ago, on the 8th, 100 of them were rescued and released to their parents. After that, we were left with 165.”
He explained that the school has not yet concluded that all abductees have been accounted for, noting that verification remains ongoing.
“I can’t categorically say that all of them have been rescued,” he said. “The federal government has said they have rescued the remaining children and teachers, and we are taking them by their word. However, we have not yet physically received them.”
According to Atori, the federal authorities handed over 130 persons to Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago through the Office of the National Security Adviser, but the school is yet to complete its own confirmation process.
“According to them, 130 were handed over to the governor, and hopefully by tomorrow, we will be receiving the children and teachers,” he said. “From there, we will proceed to Papiri in Agwara Local Government Area, where proper verification can be done.”
He said the terrain and remoteness of the affected communities have made verification difficult.
“Some of the parents live three to four hours away from Papiri,” Atori said. “Getting parents to come forward has been very difficult, and that is why we have continued with headcounts and verification to avoid discrepancies.”
Atori acknowledged the confusion surrounding the varying figures released at different times.
“We’ve had conflicting figures — at one point it was said to be 115, another time 130,” he said. “What matters most to us is that these children are returning. If these are indeed the last set, then to God be the glory. We cannot ask for a better Christmas gift.”
However, he stressed that the school would not prematurely declare the process complete.
“We will not just come out and say this is the final figure,” he said. “We will receive them, return to Papiri, and meet with parents to ensure no one later comes forward to say their child is still missing.”
Atori explained that the initial chaos following the abduction made accurate data collection difficult.
“When this happened, there was panic in the community,” he said. “It was not easy to get the exact figure at that time. We categorised those we could not immediately account for as missing because we are dealing with lives and cannot afford to make assumptions.”
Responding to criticism by Governor Bago over parents sending young children to boarding schools, Atori defended the school’s policy.
“Some of the children involved are staff children,” he said. “Many of the pupils come from communities that are three to four hours away, so daily commuting is not feasible. The school provided boarding facilities to support education, and the parents were comfortable with that.”
He added that the school serves more than 50 communities across the region.
“We even have children over the age of 10 in Primary One,” Atori said. “Education is the priority. If a child lives four hours away, do we deny them admission because of their age?”
Atori said full clarity would only emerge once the Bishop formally receives the released victims and parents confirm their identities.
“Hopefully, from tomorrow, when the Bishop receives the children, teachers and parents gather, we can finally take things forward with certainty,” he said.
Boluwatife Enome
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