Armed Men Abduct Over 200 Students and Teachers From Catholic School in Nigeria’s Niger State

National Times Bureau, November 22: Gunmen stormed a Catholic boarding school in Nigeria’s Niger state on Friday and abducted more than 200 students and staff, marking one of the largest mass kidnappings in the region in recent months. The attack took place at St. Mary’s School in Papiri, a community under the Agwara local government, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed.

CAN spokesperson Daniel Atori said 215 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were taken during the early-morning assault. He added that he had met distressed parents waiting desperately for news of their missing children. “We are doing everything possible to ensure their safe return,” Atori said, quoting CAN’s state chairman, Bishop Bulus Dauwa.

Police in Niger state said security forces and the military have been sent to the area, describing St. Mary’s as a secondary school that typically serves children between 12 and 17 years old. Satellite images of the compound show a sprawling network of classrooms and dormitories connected to a nearby primary school along the Yelwa–Mokwa road.

Locals said the attackers moved swiftly, overwhelming the school’s limited security. Sixty-two-year-old Dauda Chekula said four of his young grandchildren were among those taken. “We have not heard anything. The children who escaped ran home in fear, and the rest were taken into the bush,” he said.

A security guard at the school was shot during the attack, according to the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora.

The Niger state government revealed that authorities had earlier warned of heightened security threats in the area and criticised the school for reopening without notifying officials. Residents also said there were no police deployed at the school when the gunmen struck.

The attack comes amid rising insecurity across Nigeria’s northern region. Earlier this week, armed men abducted 25 schoolgirls in neighbouring Kebbi state, while a church attack in Kwara state left two dead and 38 worshippers kidnapped. The abductors of the churchgoers have demanded a ransom of 100 million naira (USD 69,000) for each victim.

Nigeria’s federal government has now ordered the immediate closure of 47 unity colleges—elite boarding schools—mostly located in high-risk northern states.

President Bola Tinubu cancelled his trip to the G20 summit in South Africa following the surge in kidnappings. Vice President Kashim Shettima, visiting Kebbi earlier, vowed to use “every instrument of the state” to rescue the victims.

While no group has claimed responsibility, analysts say armed gangs—many formed from disgruntled herders—frequently kidnap students for ransom. More than 1,500 students have been abducted in northern Nigeria since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok in 2014.

Residents blame weak law enforcement, corruption, and a lack of prosecution for allowing kidnappers to operate freely.

Lagos-based influencer Eze Gloria Chidinma, whose sister escaped by jumping over a fence, said her family has suffered multiple kidnappings. “Authorities must protect lives. People’s lives should matter,” she said.

Peace activist Yohanna Buru urged the government to urgently secure schools. “If the government were doing enough, these rampant kidnappings would not be happening. It feels like they don’t care about the future of our children,” he said.