Last group of kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren reunited with their families

After weeks of uncertainty a moment of joy as the last group of Nigerian schoolchildren kidnapped from their school in Niger state were reunited with their parents.

Authorities now say 230 students and teachers were abducted in November from a Catholic boarding school in Papiri. One of the largest mass abductions in Nigeria’s history, it’s been an ordeal for parents and children alike.

When they were first released on Sunday, some children appeared malnourished or in shock. Most of those seized in the attack were aged between 10 and 17, the school said.

The days of waiting were torture for their parents, says Yusuf Timothy, the father of one of the kidnapped children.

“This thing affected me seriously because sometimes even to go farm like this, I can’t. Even though I go to farm, I can’t do anything. Even to take food like this is difficult for me, because the thing is paining me seriously. Sometimes even though were are sleeping, with my wife, if we wake up we will start thinking, we will start crying. When are we going to see our child?”

The students' release has come just in time for holiday celebrations, Timothy says.

“This Christmas, since we are celebrating Christmas with our children, we are so glad. And this Christmas will be different from the other Christmases because this Christmas, we are happy.”

School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous country.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but residents blamed armed gangs that target schools and travellers for ransom across Nigeria’s conflict-battered north.

Officials did not say whether a ransom had been paid to secure their release.