Nigeria boosts security as 130 kidnap victims freed

The governor of Nigeria's Niger state held a ceremony on Monday to welcome back 130 kidnapped children and teachers released after a month in captivity.

Their kidnapping from a Catholic boarding school in Niger state's Papiri community was one of the worst mass abductions in Nigeria’s history. No one has claimed responsibility but local residents blame armed groups looking for ransoms.

School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous country. Now authorities say they are stepping security.

"We are implementing immediate short-term protective measures in high-risk areas, while concurrently working with state governments, traditional and religious leaders, to develop lasting community-based security solutions for education," Adamu Laka, a national coordinator with Nigeria's Counter-Terrorism Centre, said on Monday.

"It must not be a casualty to violence. We will continue to pursue policies and operations to restore confidence, reopen schools safely, and ensure that the right of every Nigerian child to learn in safety is upheld."

Officials ducked questions about whether ransoms were paid to secure their release.

"I don't think it's very fair to the system, to the government for you to ask whether money was used or not. Most important thing we have gotten these people back unhurt," Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago told reporters on Monday. "The other one is for us, not for you. So, I think the most important is that we have recovered missing children, and how we did it, we know it.”

Most of the kidnapped children were aged between 10 and 17, their school said. They’re scheduled to be reunited with their families before Christmas.

AP

Gunmen abduct 28 Muslim travellers in central Nigeria

Armed men have kidnapped 28 people travelling to an annual Islamic event in Nigeria's central Plateau state, local sources have told the BBC.

The victims, including women and children, were ambushed in their bus on Sunday night as it was driving between villages.

News of the abductions comes just a day after the Nigerian authorities announced the release of the remaining 130 schoolchildren and teachers from a separate mass kidnapping at a Catholic boarding school in Niger state last month.

A journalist based in Plateau state said the families of the latest victims had begun receiving ransom demands.

The perpetrators are not known and the authorities have yet to comment.

Kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, has become common across parts of northern and central Nigeria.

Although the handing over of cash in order to release those being held is illegal, it is thought that this is how many cases are resolved and seen as a way for these gangs to raise money.

The incident in Plateau state is unrelated to the long-running Islamist insurgency in the country's north-east, where jihadist groups have been battling the state for more than a decade.

The insecurity in Nigeria received renewed international attention in November after US President Donald Trump threatened to send troops to "that now disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing'". He alleged that Christians were being targeted.

Nigeria's federal government has acknowledged the security problems but has denied that Christians are being singled out.

On Monday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said that recent tensions with the US over insecurity and alleged persecution of Christians have been "largely resolved", resulting in stronger relations with Washington.

He added that trained and equipped forest guards will be deployed to secure forests and other remote areas used as hideouts by criminal groups to supplement army operations.

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

Video - Nigeria says all abducted Catholic school pupils released

Nigeria’s presidency says all remaining pupils and staff abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Niger state in November were freed this past weekend. Authorities say 130 people were released near the Benin border and are being transported back to Niger state.

CGTN Africa

Video - Nigeria signs major health cooperation deal with the US

The $2.1 billion in funding will support Nigeria's fight against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and polio, while boosting maternal and child healthcare.

CGTN Africa

Trump recalls US envoy to Nigeria as part of “America First” diplomatic overhaul

Donald Trump, the United States president, has ordered the recall of Richard Mills, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, along with a wave of career diplomats stationed across Africa and other regions, in a sweeping realignment of America’s diplomatic corps to reflect his “America First” foreign policy agenda.

According to a report by Politico and other U.S media reports, the move affects ambassadors who were originally appointed during the Joe Biden administration and will see their tenures end in January 2026. While the diplomats are not being dismissed from the foreign service, they will return to Washington for potential reassignment, as their roles as chiefs of mission come to a close.

Africa has emerged as the hardest-hit region, with envoys from 13 countries—including Nigeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Uganda—among those recalled. Diplomats in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Western Hemisphere have also been affected, though to a lesser extent.

A State Department official, speaking on background, confirmed the reshuffle and described it as consistent with presidential prerogative. “An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda,” read a department statement, which added that such transitions are a “standard process in any administration.”

The decision has nonetheless sparked concern among foreign policy observers and within the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the union representing US diplomats. Lawmakers, particularly those focused on US-Africa relations, have also voiced unease over the abrupt nature of the changes.

For Nigeria—a strategic partner in West Africa on counterterrorism, economic development, and democratic governance—the departure of Ambassador Mills marks a significant shift in bilateral engagement. Analysts warn the move could temporarily disrupt ongoing diplomatic initiatives and complicate coordination on shared security priorities, including efforts against Boko Haram and regional stabilisation programmes.

Although the recalled officials retain their positions within the State Department, the scale and timing of the reshuffle signal a deliberate pivot in US global posture, underscoring the Trump administration’s emphasis on aligning diplomatic missions with its domestic-centric policy framework.

Embassies in affected nations are expected to operate under interim leadership—often deputies or chargés d’affaires—until new nominees are confirmed, a process that could take months amid a divided Senate.

Business Day