An uncle left twin 9-year-old boys home alone in a New Hampshire apartment for months while their parents were in Nigeria with three siblings, authorities said.

The uncle, 25-year-old Giobari Atura, dropped by every few days to give the kids food, but police found not food in the refrigerator and determined that the twin boys had been fending for themselves with just ramen noodles to eat, according to an Associated Press report.

Police charged Atura in December with a count of endangering the welfare of a child, which is a misdemeanor. He posted a $500 bail.

Atura is the brother of Jerusalem Monday, who had left for Nigeria with his wife and three of their children in July with plans to return to August. He had asked Atura to watch over the boys while he was away.

The state’s Division of Children found out about the situation from officials at the school the boys attended. They found that the twins had been getting themselves up to get on the bus and ate breakfast and lunch at school. The children were placed in protective custody and then into foster care.

The parents returned hom not long after hearing of the situation. They won’t be facing any charges because they had left the boys in the care of a relative, and the boys were returned to them.

Atura told police he stopped by the apartment on days he went to work, which wasn’t every day, and that he checked on the boys three days a week and told them they could call him if they needed anything, but there was no phone in the apartment, according to the report.

One of the boys told police that he felt lonely in the apartment because nobody was there with him.

Police contacted the parents, who told them they had told Atura that he was to stay at the apartment, and if he couldn’t do that, he needs to contact a family friend to take care of it. The parents said that Atura had repeatedly assured them via phone that everything was fine.