The Federal Government has reportedly secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.
Bandits on 21 November 2025, attacked the school in the remote community of Papiri.
Arriving around 2:00 a.m. on motorbikes, the gunmen stormed the school dormitories over a three-hour period, abducting 315 people—303 students and 12 teachers.
Security forces and community hunters were deployed to comb nearby forests for the abductees.
In the immediate aftermath, 50 pupils escaped within the first day and were reunited with their families.
However, 265 individuals—including 253 children and all 12 teachers—remained in captivity.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abubakar Usman, the state government, while condemning the attack, said it had earlier received credible intelligence indicating elevated security threats across parts of the Niger North Senatorial District.
It said it directed the suspension of all construction activities and the temporary closure of boarding schools within the affected areas as a proactive safety measure.
The government also disclosed that the school of allegedly reopened and resumed academic activities without notifying or obtaining clearance from the government, a claim the school authority denied.
This handout photo taken by Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of Niger state chapter and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese on November 21, 2025 and distributed on November 22, 2025 shows empty bunk beds and scattered belongings inside a student dormitory at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwarra local government, Niger state.
The incident attracted reactions from prominent people, including the Catholic pontif, Pope Leo XIV.
The Federal Government responded by imposing a 24-hour security cordon and launching aerial surveillance across parts of Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States.
President Bola Tinubu cancelled planned international travel to address the crisis.
Authorities also ordered the indefinite closure of all schools in Niger State and many federal institutions in high-risk regions.
FG’s Assurance
Last Monday, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, reassured parents and authorities of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, that the abducted pupils “are doing fine and will return soon.”
He conveyed President Tinubu’s message of hope, noting that efforts to rescue the children were progressing and security deployment in the affected area had been intensified.
“God is with them and God is with us. Evil will never win. They are going to come back. I give you that assurance,” Ribadu said during a visit to the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Proprietor of the school, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, as well as parents of the abducted children at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Kontagora.
