PAPIRI, Nigeria — Anxious families congregated Friday at the site of a recently attacked Catholic school in north-central Nigeria, issuing urgent appeals to authorities for the safe return of their children. The emotional gathering comes one week after armed militants stormed the educational facility, capturing more than 300 students and staff members in a brazen early morning assault on November 21.
According to school administrators, approximately 50 children successfully escaped their captors, but more than 250 remain in militant custody. The incident represents the latest in a disturbing pattern of mass school abductions that have plagued the West African nation.
“These kidnapped children include some of extremely tender age,” recounted Abuchi Nwolisa, a distraught parent at the school. “The attackers literally snatched some directly from their sleeping beds.”
The crisis has prompted President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency, authorizing enhanced police powers to address the escalating security situation. This abduction marks the second major school kidnapping within a fortnight, following a separate incident in Kebbi where 30 students were taken before eventually being secured through government intervention.
Historical data reveals the alarming frequency of such attacks, with at least a dozen mass school abductions occurring since 2014. According to documentation, approximately 1,799 students have been kidnapped during this period, with some never successfully rescued.
Stephen Okafor, spokesperson for the Minna Catholic Mission, emphasized the devastating scope: “We have parents with two, three, even five children currently held by abductors. We are here to demonstrate the devastating reality of this situation to the world.”
The security crisis has drawn international attention, including recent threats of military intervention from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who cited widespread persecution of Christians. Nigerian officials have rejected these characterizations, maintaining that the security threats represent complex challenges affecting all citizens regardless of religious affiliation.