Journalism of Courage
The number of schoolchildren abducted in an attack on St. Mary’s School in Niger state has risen to more than 300, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Saturday. As a safety precaution, Christmas holidays have been declared in all schools in Niger state.
CAN said 303 children and 12 teachers were taken during the attack in the Papiri community. The revised figure came “after a verification exercise and a final census”, according to a statement by Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, head of CAN in Niger state.
Yohanna, who visited the school, told Reuters that “88 other students were also captured after they tried to escape”. The students are aged 10 to 18 and include both boys and girls.
The kidnapping took place four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in a separate incident in neighbouring Kebbi state, around 170 kilometres away.
No group has claimed responsibility. According to Reuters, authorities said tactical teams and local hunters have been deployed to help locate the children.
Yohanna rejected a claim by the Niger state government that the school had reopened for classes.
“We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he told Reuters, urging families “to remain calm and prayerful”.
Niger state has now closed all schools as a precaution. Governor Umar Bago said the decision was taken after a meeting with security officials in Minna.
“It is the decision of stakeholders today to close all schools in Niger state. All schools are closed till further notice,” he said. “We have declared Christmas holiday for all schools in Niger state.”
School kidnappings have become a common security challenge in various parts of Nigeria. UNICEF has said only 37% of schools in 10 conflict-affected states have early warning systems to detect threats.
Reuters noted that the latest abductions come after comments by US President Donald Trump, who has spoken about attacks on Christians in Nigeria. Security experts say violence in the country affects both Christians and Muslims.
The attack also coincided with a visit by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to the United States, where he met US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.
