Gunmen abducted an unknown number of students and staff of St. Mary’s School, a Catholic school located in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State. The gunmen attacked the school in the early hours of Friday, reportedly whisking away many students during the raid.
A source from a Catholic church in the state confirmed the incident but declined to provide details, stating that the school was still compiling its records.
“Yes, it is true, but I am not in a position to give any details. The church will make an official statement later in the day,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Niger State, SP Wasiu Abiodun, noted that additional information would be provided at a later time.
The Head of Department for Disaster and Relief in Agwara Local Government, Ahmed Abdullahi Rofia, confirmed the attack to our correspondent via telephone. He explained that the assailants struck between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. According to him, the exact number of kidnapped students and staff was still being verified.
The incident comes a few days after a similar attack in Maga, Kebbi State, where 25 students were abducted, amid growing concerns about the wave of school kidnappings across the north of Nigeria. Just on Thursday, more than 50 schools were shut down in Kwara State due to escalating bandit activities.
President Bola Tinubu recently cancelled planned trips to South Africa and Angola to focus on coordinating the federal response to the worsening security crisis.
