Connect with us

Education

Kidnapped Niger school children, staff reunited with families – Properitor, Rev Fr Yohana

Published

on

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has confirmed that all children and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools, Papiri in Niger, have been rescued and reunited with their families.

Rev. Bulus Yohanna, Catholic Diocese of Kontagora and Properitor of St. Mary Catholic Private Primary and Secondary School, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He said a total of 230 persons comprising 12 staff members, 14 students and 204 pupils were verified to have been abducted and later rescued through the efforts of the Federal and Niger State governments, as well as security agencies.

Yohanna said all rescued children had been reunited with their families, adding that no report had been received indicating that any child remained missing.

He explained that immediately after the abduction on November 21, an initial headcount showed that 315 persons were unaccounted for.

He noted that on November 23, 50 of those earlier listed as missing had escaped and returned to their parents, reducing the number of unaccounted persons to 265.

“A joint verification exercise by the state government, security agencies and school authorities later revealed that not all parents were present during the exercise.

“A second and final verification conducted by the school authorities in collaboration with the Parents-Teachers Association established that an additional 35 persons had either not been abducted or had escaped earlier,” he said.

He added that out of the initial 315 persons reported missing, 85 were confirmed to have either escaped or not been abducted, bringing the verified number of abducted persons to 230.

See also  Glitched grades: WAEC in crisis over result errors

He acknowledged that discrepancies recorded during the initial headcount were due to the chaotic nature of the incident.

He noted that some pupils fled into nearby bushes and did not immediately return for the first headcount, while some parents were absent during verification.

Yohanna emphasised that the discrepancies were not intended to mislead the public but were the result of challenges associated with a fast-evolving and emotionally charged situation.

He expressed gratitude to the government and security agencies for their intervention, as well as to parents, the Christian community, the media and the public for their prayers, patience and support.

He also prayed for healing and restoration for all affected families.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Education

Tinubu appoints NECO, NBTE chairmen, names poly rector, renews library DG tenure

Published

on

President Bola Tinubu has approved new appointments across key education agencies, including the National Examinations Council and the National Board for Technical Education.

According to a statement on Wednesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the appointments are part of efforts to strengthen institutions under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The President appointed Prof. Modupe Adeola Adelabu as Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Examinations Council, while retaining the Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi.

He also named Prof. Babatunde Salako as Chairman of the National Board for Technical Education, while earlier reappointing the Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, for a second and final term of five years.

In the polytechnic sector, Tinubu appointed Dr Bongfa Binfa as Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, N’yak-Shendam, Plateau State, for a single term of five years. Binfa succeeds the pioneer rector, Dr Mukaila Zakari Ya’u, whose tenure ended in March 2026.

Until his appointment, Binfa was the Deputy Rector (Academic) at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, and previously lectured at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah.

The President also renewed the tenure of Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi as Director-General of the National Library of Nigeria for a final term of five years.

Anunobi, who was first appointed in September 2021, has led “several institutional reforms aimed at repositioning the National Library as a modern technology-driven knowledge institution” including the development of digital platforms such as the National Repository of Nigeria and the National Virtual Library.

The statement noted that Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State and ex-chairman of the NBTE, brings extensive experience in educational administration, while Salako is a former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.

See also  Over 10,000 register for teachers’ qualifying examination

It added that the renewal of Anunobi’s tenure is expected to ensure continuity in ongoing reforms and the completion of the National Library headquarters project in Abuja.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

Education

JAMB releases Monday’s UTME results

Published

on

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Monday, April 20.

Its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday, directing affected candidates to the board’s standard result-checking channels.

“The results for Monday, 20th, have been released. Candidates can view their results using the usual process,” the statement read.

Candidates can access their scores by sending “UTMERESULT” to 55019 or 66019 via SMS, using the phone number with which they registered for the examination.

Monday’s release is the latest in a series of daily result announcements that JAMB has been making since the 2026 UTME commenced on Thursday, April 16.

The exercise, which involves over two million candidates sitting computer-based tests at centres across the country, has seen the board publish results in batches corresponding to each examination day.

The board started the process by releasing results for Thursday’s candidates, followed by a combined batch covering Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.

The Friday-Saturday release, however, came later than candidates had expected. JAMB had initially indicated the results would be available on Saturday but failed to meet that timeline, drawing frustration from candidates who waited through the night.

The board subsequently apologised, attributing the delay to the absence of its chief executive, who was occupied with an official engagement.

The results were eventually published on Sunday, April 19, before the board moved on to process and release the Monday batch.

See also  SSCE 2026: No NIN, no exam, NIMC insists

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

Education

JAMB releases over 1.8 million UTME results nationwide

Published

on

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the release of results for candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, the board said 1,264,940 results from the two days had been processed and made available for candidates.

“The results of candidates who sat the examination on Friday, 17 April and Saturday, 18 April 2026 have now been released.

“A total of 1,264,940 results from these two days are available for candidates to check/view,” the statement read.

The board noted that this latest batch follows an earlier release of results for candidates who wrote the examination on Thursday, April 16.

“The board had earlier released 632,752 results of candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, 16 April 2026. This brings the total number of results released so far to 1,897,692,” it said.

JAMB urged candidates to access their results through its designated SMS channels, maintaining its standard result-checking procedure.

“To view their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the phone (SIM) number they used to register for the 2026 UTME,” the statement added.

The examination body further explained that the results released so far represent outcomes from the first three days of the nationwide exercise.

The UTME, which commenced nationwide on Thursday, is expected to have over two million candidates participating across various computer-based test centres.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

See also  SSCE 2026: No NIN, no exam, NIMC insists
Continue Reading

Trending