Police in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State reported that a group of armed bandits invaded a private Catholic school abducting hundreds of schoolchildren early on Friday, amid widespread outrage over violence against Christians in the West African nation.
Despite some students managing to get to safety during the attack, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said 215 students and 12 teachers were abducted in the raid.
Parents have been arriving at the school to pick their children up, ahead of the school shutting down, CAN’s Niger State chapter chairman Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said.
Yohanna, who visited the school and met parents of the abducted children, said the association was working with the government and security agencies to bring the children back safely, according to his spokesman.
The abduction in Niger, which borders Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, follows a similar attack on a church by gunmen in neighboring Kwara State earlier in the week. During the church attack, at least two people were killed, and several worshippers, including the pastor, were abducted.
In addition, this week, armed men kidnapped 25 female students when they stormed a government girls’ boarding school in northwestern Kebbi State. Tragically, the school’s vice principal was shot and killed during this attack.
The Niger State government condemned the latest attack on St. Mary’s School, stating that “the exact number of abducted pupils is yet to be confirmed.”
The Niger State police command issued a statement Friday indicating that security forces have deployed to the area and are “combing the forests” in an effort to rescue the abducted students.
Nigeria is currently facing a concerning wave of attacks by armed groups that target vulnerable civilian populations and orchestrate mass abductions for ransom. The country is also plagued by religiously motivated attacks and other violent conflicts stemming from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as disputes between farmers and herders over limited access to land and water resources.
US President Donald Trump has frequently expressed outrage over disputed allegations of a “mass slaughter” of Christians by Islamist insurgents in Nigeria and has threatened military action to protect this religious group.
Earlier this month, Trump designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the US International Religious Freedom Act, suggesting that his administration has determined Nigeria has engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, (and) egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The recent string of attacks coincides with the arrival of a Nigerian delegation in Washington for discussions with US government officials.
A Pentagon official confirmed a meeting that took place on Thursday between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Additionally, the Nigerian delegation is scheduled to meet Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Friday, according to a State Department spokesperson.
