Nigeria: 315 students and teachers abducted from Catholic school, new tally shows
A Christian association in Nigeria announced on Saturday that the number of students and teachers kidnapped from a Catholic school in central Nigeria has risen to 315, marking the second mass abduction in the country within a week.
The attack occurred early Friday morning at St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, located in Niger State. It followed a separate assault on Monday in neighbouring Kebbi State, where gunmen abducted 25 schoolgirls from a high school.
According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the revised figure was reached after a verification exercise and a full headcount. The organisation said 303 students and 12 teachers are now confirmed missing, representing nearly half of the school’s 629 enrolled pupils.
In response, the authorities in Katsina and Plateau states ordered the closure of all schools as a precaution. Niger State also shut down numerous institutions, while President Bola Tinubu cancelled multiple international engagements, including participation in the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, to oversee crisis management.
These abductions, along with a recent attack on a church in the west that left two people dead, coincide with rising tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened potential military action in Nigeria, accusing Islamist extremists of “massacring Christians.”
The tragedy revived memories of the Chibok kidnappings of 2014, when nearly 300 girls were seized by Boko Haram—many of whom remain missing.
Escalating kidnappings
CAN reported that Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora provided the updated toll after visiting the school. He said additional inquiries revealed that 88 more students had been captured while attempting to flee.
For years, heavily armed criminal groups—commonly referred to as bandits—have multiplied attacks in rural areas of northwestern and central Nigeria. Operating from forested hideouts spanning several states, these groups carry out kidnappings for ransom, killings, and raids, often overwhelming local security forces.
A UN source, speaking anonymously, said the schoolgirls kidnapped Monday in Kebbi were likely moved to the Birnin Gwari forest in neighbouring Kaduna State.
As Nigeria grapples with overlapping security threats, hostage-taking has become a dominant tactic among both criminal gangs and jihadist factions. Although bandits are primarily financially motivated, their growing cooperation with jihadists from the northeast has raised concerns among authorities and analysts.
The country has been battling a jihadist insurgency for 16 years, as extremist groups fight to establish a caliphate in the northeast.
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