Over 300 students reportedly abducted by gunmen from Catholic school in Nigeria

More than 300 students have been abducted by armed men from St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, in one of the largest mass kidnappings Nigeria has witnessed in recent years.

Authorities say no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place at dawn on Friday, leaving dormitories empty and families in distress as they search for missing children. Many of those taken are between seven and ten years old.

The assault comes just days after gunmen stormed a school in Maga town, Kebbi State, where 25 schoolgirls were abducted on Monday.

Accordingly to Aljazeera, one managed to escape; 24 remain missing.

Security officials have deployed tactical squads and enlisted the help of local hunters familiar with the terrain in a race to track the abductors and rescue the children.

Residents say the attackers are believed to be moving deeper into the bush.

“We don’t know what is happening now, because we have not heard anything since this morning. The children who escaped have scattered… and the only information we are getting is that the attackers are still moving with the remaining children,” a distraught resident told the Associated Press.

Satellite images show that St Mary’s, officially a secondary school, is linked to an adjacent primary school, forming a large compound with more than 50 buildings, including classrooms and dormitories.

The complex sits near a major road connecting Yelwa and Mokwa, an area where authorities earlier received intelligence warning of heightened threats.

A statement from the Niger State government criticized the school for reopening without notifying authorities, saying the move exposed learners and staff “to avoidable risk”.

The crisis has already altered plans at the highest levels of government. President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his trip to the G20 summit in South Africa, with Vice President Kashim Shettima set to attend in his place, the presidency confirmed on X.

As rescue efforts intensify, families anxiously await word on the fate of their children, with hopes pinned on security forces and community trackers navigating the vast forested region where the students are believed to have been taken.

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