Nigeria, Feb. 24 -- The Nigerian government has rejected claims that it paid ransom to terrorists to secure the release of pupils abducted from St Mary Catholic School, Papiri in Agwara district of Niger State, last year.

More than 300 pupils were abducted from the school by terrorists on Friday, 21 November 2025, and the government secured the release of over 100 of them unharmed on 7 December The remaining pupils were subsequently released later.

However, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Tuesday that the Nigerian government allegedly paid a "huge" ransom to Boko Haram and released two of its senior commanders to secure the pupils' release.

The report quoted intelligence sources as saying the government flew a helicopter to ...