100 schoolchildren abducted in Nigeria are released but more are still held

MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — A total of 100 of the schoolchildren abducted from a Nigerian Catholic school last month and released over the weekend were hosted at a government-organized ceremony on Monday, many of them looking lost but relieved.

Details surrounding their release were not made public and the government has not said if any ransom — common in such abductions — was paid.

At least 303 schoolchildren were seized in Niger state together with 12 of their teachers when gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri community on Nov. 21. Fifty escaped in the hours that followed and at least 150 are still held, together with the teachers.

The freed schoolchildren arrived at the Niger Government House in the state capital of Minna in several buses accompanied by military trucks. They were then received by officials who hugged and shook hands with some, before posing with them in front of cameras.

The Niger state governor, Mohammed Bago, said health workers and experts would “thoroughly examine” the children before they are returned to their parents in Papiri.

“To those who have been praying, please continue to pray,” Bago told a gathering of government and security officials. “We hope to recover the remaining students who are still in captivity.”

Most of the freed children — between the ages of 10 and 17, according to the school — arrived wearing soccer jerseys, robes and slippers. Officials said they had been in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, since the news of their release broke on Sunday night.

The parents in faraway Papiri say they were not told about the release of the 100 and only learned about it from the media. With anguish and anticipation, many wondered if their children were among those released or still held.

“I’m just worried about his safety but praying he should be among” the freed, Samuel Musa said of his 13-year-old son who was abducted at the school. “His mother has been sick since the abduction.”

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu commended security agencies “for their steadfast work” in ensuring the safe return of the students, but did not provide further details.

“My directive to our security forces remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians across the country must be rescued and brought back home safely,” Tinubu added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, but locals blamed armed gangs that target schools and travelers in kidnappings for ransoms across Nigeria’s conflict-battered north.

The Niger state attack was among a spate of recent mass abductions in Nigeria, and happened four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state’s Maga town. A church in the southern Kwara state was also attacked around the same time — the 38 worshipers abducted in that attack last month have also been freed.

Under pressure at home and from U.S. President Donald Trump — who has alleged that Christians are being targeted in Nigeria’s security crisis — Tinubu has promised he will not relent until all hostages are freed.

Nigerian authorities usually do not say much about rescue efforts and arrests in such cases are rare. Analysts believe that's because ransoms are usually paid. Officials do not admit payment of ransoms.

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Government officials poses for photographs with Freed students of the St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community at the government house in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

Freed students of the St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community upon arrival at the government house in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

Freed students of the St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community upon arrival at the government house in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

Freed students of the St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community upon arrival at the government house in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

Freed students of the St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community upon arrival at the government house in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

Worried parents of abducted school children gather at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )

A worried parent of abducted school children looks on at St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks pulled away from their record heights. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Monday, though it remains close to its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1%. Berkshire Hathaway weighed on the market after announcing a shake-up of some of its top leadership. Warner Bros. Discovery jumped after Paramount took an offer to buy the company directly to its shareholders. Treasury yields rose ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday meeting. The wide expectation is for it to cut interest rates but also hint at fewer cuts in 2026.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling away from their record heights on Monday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.6% in afternoon trading, though it remains within 0.9% of its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 318 points, or 0.7%, as of 2:11 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.

Berkshire Hathaway was a heavy weight on the market and fell 1.7% after announcing a shake-up of some of its top leadership. Todd Combs, who had been CEO of the company's GEICO insurance business, is leaving for a job at JPMorgan Chase, while Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg will retire next year.

Netflix dropped 4.2% after Paramount announced a bid in hopes of trumping Netflix's deal to buy Warner Bros., which was announced last week.

Paramount said it’s offering $30 for each Warner Bros. Discovery share, as well as a quicker and easier way for investors to get their payout. Paramount is offering to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery in cash, unlike Netflix’s offer of cash and stock for just Warner Bros. following its pending split with Discovery.

The board of directors for Warner Bros. Discovery had agreed to Netflix's offer last week, but it's already facing potential scrutiny from federal regulators because of worries about too much industry power sitting at one company. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a Netflix-Warner Bros. combination “could be a problem.”

Warner Bros. Discovery rose 3.3% following the hostile buyout bid, and Paramount Skydance’s stock climbed 7.7%.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Confluent soared 29.3% after IBM said it would buy the company, which helps customers connect and process data. IBM said the $11 billion deal will help customers deploy artificial-intelligence tools better and faster, and its shares added 0.6%.

Carvana jumped 13.3% in its first trading after learning it will join the S&P 500 index on Dec. 22. Many professional investors directly mimic the index or at least measure their performance against it, which will push many to buy any stocks within it.

CRH, a provider of building materials, rose 5.1%, and Comfort Systems USA, a provider of mechanical and electrical contracting services, was mostly unchanged after likewise learning they’ll join the S&P 500 in a couple weeks.

They will replace LKQ, Solstice Advanced Materials and Mohawk Industries, which have all shrunk enough in size that they’ll drop down to the S&P SmallCap 600 index of smaller stocks.

CoreWeave sank 5% after the AI cloud company said it’s raising $2 billion in debt that it could repay in stock and cash.

Moves elsewhere on Wall Street were relatively modest. The U.S. stock market has become much more calm recently following weeks of sharp and scary swings.

The highlight of this week will come Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates.

Stocks have already run to the edge of their records on widespread expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate for the third time this year. Lower interest rates can give the economy and prices for investments a boost, though their downside is that they can worsen inflation.

The big question is what kind of hints the Fed will offer about where interest rates will go after that. Many on Wall Street are bracing for talk aimed at tamping down expectations for more cuts in 2026.

Inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target, and Fed officials are notably split in their opinions about whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger threat to the economy.

In the bond market, Treasury yields climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.17% from 4.14% late Friday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes slid 1.2% in Hong Kong but jumped 1.3% in South Korea for two of the world’s bigger moves.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)