ARMED men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, before dawn Friday, abducting dozens of students and staff in the third major kidnapping incident to strike Nigeria within a week, intensifying a security crisis that has placed President Bola Tinubu’s government under mounting domestic and international pressure.
Local broadcaster Arise TV reports that 52 schoolchildren were kidnapped in the pre-dawn raid, though authorities have not confirmed the exact number taken. Military and security units have been deployed to track the attackers, police confirmed.
The attack comes just four days after gunmen stormed a church in central Nigeria, killing at least two people and abducting a pastor and worshippers, and less than a week after armed bandits killed a school official and kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in neighbouring Kebbi State.
School Reopened Despite Security Warnings
Niger State government secretary Abubakar Usman revealed the attack occurred despite intelligence warnings of heightened threats in the area. He sharply criticised St. Mary’s Catholic School for reopening “without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk.”
The pre-dawn timing mirrors Monday’s attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, where heavily armed bandits scaled perimeter fences at approximately 4 a.m., killing Vice Principal Malam Hassan Yakubu Makuku and wounding another staff member before abducting 25 schoolgirls. Those students remain missing.
While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, Nigeria has long battled kidnapping networks ranging from Boko Haram — responsible for the infamous 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abduction — to heavily armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits.
Church Attack Compounds Crisis
Between the two school incidents, gunmen attacked Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, on Tuesday evening, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor along with several worshippers. Witnesses reported counting at least three dead church members.
Police responded to reports of gunfire at approximately 6 p.m. and discovered victims both inside the church and in nearby bush, according to Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara State.
“They later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush,” parishioner Joseph Bitrus told Reuters, though the exact number of abductees remains unclear.
A video verified by Reuters captured armed men bursting into the ongoing service, forcing congregants to take cover as gunshots rang out.
Presidential Response and International Pressure
The escalating attacks prompted President Tinubu to postpone planned trips to South Africa and Angola for the G20 and African Union-European Union summits. His office announced he would instead receive security briefings and has ordered enhanced security operations to hunt down assailants.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu directed security agencies “to do everything possible” to rescue the kidnapped victims and “bring the girls back home safe.”
The crisis has drawn sharp scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action over what he characterises as persecution of Christians in Africa’s most populous nation. Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Tuesday, rapper Nicki Minaj appealed for global action, stating that in Nigeria “Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed.”
The Nigerian government has pushed back against the U.S. designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern,” arguing it misrepresents the nation’s complex security landscape and overlooks efforts to safeguard religious freedom for all citizens.
Preventable Attacks Raise Questions
Troubling questions have emerged about whether some attacks were preventable. In the Kebbi school incident, community leaders revealed intelligence about the impending raid existed, and Governor Nasir Idris had instructed soldiers at a nearby checkpoint to mobilise to the school. They arrived but departed around midnight — the bandits struck shortly after.
Similarly, Niger State officials acknowledged having intelligence warnings before Friday’s attack at St. Mary’s Catholic School, raising concerns about coordination failures between security forces and civilian institutions.
A Nation Under Siege
Nigeria faces multiple simultaneous security threats: an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, mass abductions and killings by armed gangs primarily in the northwest, and deadly clashes between predominantly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers in the central belt.
Since the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping that sparked global outrage, over 1,680 students have been abducted across Nigeria, with more than 180 children killed in attacks on schools. As of 2021, over one million children were afraid to return to school, and around 11,500 schools were closed due to attacks.
The three incidents this week come just eight days after Nigerian troops celebrated rescuing 86 kidnapped victims from Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in Borno State — a stark illustration of the relentless cycle of military victories followed by renewed attacks that has characterised Nigeria’s decade-long struggle against terror and criminality.
As security forces continue searching for the abducted students, church members, and schoolgirls, families across multiple states await news of their missing loved ones. The repeated attacks underscore Nigeria’s deepening security crisis and the government’s ongoing struggle to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
