More than 200 children were abducted after gunmen stormed St Mary’s School in the Papiri community of Niger State’s Agwara district early on Friday morning. This incident marks one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings in recent years.
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The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reported that attackers seized 215 pupils along with 12 teachers. Daniel Atori, the spokesperson for CAN in Niger State, visited the community to meet distressed families. “I just got back to the village tonight after visiting the school and meeting with parents,” he said, adding that CAN is working “to ensure our children’s safe return.”
Police confirmed the attack occurred before dawn, stating that soldiers and other security personnel have been deployed to the area. Niger State police reported receiving an alert at approximately 2am (01:00 GMT) that armed bandits had invaded St Mary’s Private School. Tactical units and the military have been deployed to search for the abducted pupils. St Mary’s is officially a secondary school, but satellite images show its compound links to an adjacent primary school, featuring over 50 buildings, including classrooms and dormitories. The complex is near a major road connecting the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.
Residents described scenes of panic as families searched for missing children. Dauda Chekula, 62, reported that four of his grandchildren, aged seven to ten, were taken. “We don’t know what is happening now, because we have not heard anything since this morning,” he told The Associated Press news agency. “The children who were able to escape have scattered … and the only information we are getting is that the attackers are still moving with the remaining children into the bush.”
The secretary to the Niger State government issued a statement indicating that authorities had previously received intelligence warnings about increased threats in the area. The statement criticized the school for reopening “without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk.” Residents noted the school lacked a formal security presence. The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora confirmed a guard was “badly shot” during the assault.
President Bola Tinubu cancelled his planned trip to the G20 summit in South Africa following the abductions. Vice President Kashim Shettima will attend in his place, the presidency announced on X.
This incident at St Mary’s comes just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in Kebbi State in northwestern Nigeria, abducting 25 schoolgirls early on Monday morning. One girl later escaped, but 24 remain missing. This follows an attack on a church earlier this week, highlighting a disturbing pattern of recent violence.
These events occur weeks after United States President Donald Trump threatened military action, citing what he described as targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians. The Nigerian government has rejected this narrative, arguing that Muslims are the majority victims of armed group attacks. Trump’s assertions echo claims that have gained traction among right-wing and Christian evangelical circles in recent months. Despite the differing perspectives, the Nigerian government welcomed US assistance to fight terrorism after Trump’s initial threats.
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