More than 300 students and teachers have been abducted from a Nigerian school in one of the country’s biggest mass kidnappings, a Christian group said on Saturday, adding to growing security concerns in Africa’s most populous country.
The early Friday attack on St Mary’s co-educational school in Niger state, western Nigeria, followed another attack just days earlier when gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi state and kidnapped 25 girls.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) earlier reported that 227 people were detained in the attack, but a subsequent “verification exercise” concluded that 303 students and 12 teachers were abducted.
The missing boys and girls, who were aged between eight and 18, make up almost half of St Mary’s total of 629 students, AFP reported.
How is the government responding to the situation?
The Nigerian government has not yet commented on the exact number of students and teachers abducted from the school. However, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago said on Saturday that the intelligence department and the police were conducting a “headcount”.
Governor Bago immediately ordered the closure of all schools in Niger State, with the government now focusing on rescuing students and teachers. Neighboring states have also introduced similar preventive measures.
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In addition, the national Ministry of Education also ordered the closure of 47 boarding high schools across the country. In a stark sign of the severity of the crisis, President Bola Tinubu canceled his international commitments, including plans to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on the domestic security situation.
Growing security concerns and international pressure
The latest wave of kidnappings, including a separate attack on a church that left two dead and dozens abducted, comes after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as the killing of Christians by radical Islamists in Nigeria.
The US continued to apply pressure, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging Abuja to “take urgent and sustained action to end violence against Christians” during talks with Nigeria’s national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Nigeria remains scarred by the abduction of some 300 girls by Boko Haram jihadists in Chibok, northeastern Borno state more than a decade ago – with some still missing.
Employees recall the horror of the attack
In a video clip shared by CAN, unidentified St Mary’s staff recalled hearing the sounds of motorbikes and cars before “there was a serious bang, banging on various gates of the compound”.
“The children were crying,” she said, describing her panic as she searched for the keys to the section where the sound of crying was loudest. A guard could be heard moaning during the commotion and after a while she heard the gang drive off.
“The attackers operated aggressively and without interruption for almost three hours, moving through the hostels,” the local Catholic diocese told AFP.
Growing security challenges
In a separate attack on a church in western Nigeria on Tuesday, two people were killed during a service that was broadcast online. Dozens of worshipers are believed to have been kidnapped by the gunmen.
For years, heavily armed criminal gangs, often referred to as bandits, have terrorized northwest and central Nigeria, killing thousands and carrying out kidnappings for ransom in rural areas where the state’s presence is minimal.
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No group has yet claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, but these ransom-seeking bandit gangs often target schools in rural areas due to poor security.
Although these criminal gangs are motivated by financial gain rather than ideological leanings, their growing links with jihadists from the northeast have raised concerns among authorities and security analysts, AFP reported.
