Schoolchildren and staff have been abducted from a Catholic boarding school by armed men in the latest in a spate of abductions in Nigeria.
The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Agwara local government’s Papiri community on Friday, said Abubakar Usman, the secretary to the Niger state government.
He did not disclose the number of students and staff abducted, nor who might be responsible for the attack.
It described St. Mary’s as a secondary school, which serves children between the ages of in 12 and 17.
The statement by the secretary to the Niger state government said the incident occurred despite prior intelligence warning of heightened threats.
“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” it read.
The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora said in a statement that a security staffer was “badly shot” during the attack.
The abductions took place days after gunmen on Monday attacked a high school and abducted 25 schoolgirls in the neighbouring Kebbi state, in Maga, around 170 km (105 miles) from Papiri. One of the girls later escaped and is safe, the school’s principal said.
In a separate attack on Monday in Kwara state, which borders Niger state, armed men attacked a church, killing 2 people. During the attack, 38 worshippers were also abducted, Femi Agbabiaka, secretary of the Christ Apostolic Church, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu postponed his trip to this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in light of the schoolgirls abductions and attack on the church.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Niger and Kebbi state, but analysts and locals say gangs often target schools, travelers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransom. Authorities say the gunmen are mostly former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over strained resources.
Abductions have come to define the insecurity prevailing in Africa’s most populous nation and the painful consequences.
At least 1,500 students have been abducted in the region since Boko Haram jihadi extremists seized 276 Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago. But bandits are also active in the region, and analysts say gangs often target schools to gain attention.
Nigeria was recently thrust into the spotlight after US President Donald Trump singled the country out, stating that Christians are being persecuted — an allegation that the government rejected.
Analysts and residents blame the insecurity on a failure to prosecute known attackers, and the rampant corruption that limits weapons supplies to security forces while ensuring a steady supply to the gangs.
A satellite view shows the school compound, rectangular in shape, surrounded by a wall and attached to an adjoining primary school, with over 50 classroom and dormitory buildings. It is located near the main Yelwa-Mokwa road.
Umar Yunus, a Papiri resident, said there were only local security arrangements and no official police or government forces securing the school at the time of the attack on Friday.
Discussion about this post