Children as Young as 5 Among Hundreds Kidnapped from Nigerian Catholic School

Many of the 303 children abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Nigeria’s Papiri community were as young as 5 years old, according to Sister Mary Barron, Superior General of the Missionary Sisters of the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles.

“In this part of the world where there’s no education available, people send their children to boarding school from nursery school, so you have very small children,” Barron told the BBC. She described many of the kidnapped students as “tiny,” noting that the majority of missing children are from the primary school.

The mass kidnapping occurred Friday when armed attackers stormed the school. By Sunday, officials confirmed that 50 students, aged between 10 and 18, had managed to escape individually over the weekend. This leaves 253 students and 12 teachers still in captivity, according to school authorities.

Sister Barron explained that the escaped children fled by jumping over a wall and running into the surrounding bush. “They said they walked and walked, because they knew they couldn’t walk back to the school, so they just kept walking until they found something familiar,” she said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which represents one of the largest mass abductions in the region in recent years. Nigerian authorities have stated that tactical squads and local hunters have been deployed to rescue the remaining hostages, though the current location of the captives remains unknown.

“I really keep hope alive,” Barron said. “I really believe if there is a concerted effort if we get enough people mobilized with the resources necessary to try to find these children, then it can happen.”

The incident is part of a troubling pattern of violence in northern Nigeria, where armed groups have increasingly targeted schools for mass kidnappings. These attacks have become more frequent over the past decade, with perpetrators often demanding substantial ransoms for the release of captives.

Nigeria’s security challenges in its northern regions have drawn international concern. The Trump administration recently designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to the ongoing violence against Christians and religious institutions. The U.S. has expanded efforts to address this violence, including potential aid restrictions. However, the Nigerian government has disputed these characterizations of the security situation.

The attack on St. Mary’s School highlights the vulnerability of educational institutions in rural Nigeria, where security infrastructure is often limited. Boarding schools are particularly at risk, as they house large numbers of children in relatively isolated locations.

Education experts note that boarding schools remain necessary in many parts of rural Nigeria due to the lack of accessible day schools in remote communities. This educational model, however, creates concentrations of vulnerable children that armed groups have repeatedly targeted.

The photographs released by the Christian Association of Nigeria show empty dormitories and scattered belongings at St. Mary’s School following the attack, underscoring the sudden and violent nature of the abduction.

As search efforts continue, parents and community members anxiously await news of the remaining hostages. Local authorities have not disclosed whether contact has been established with the kidnappers or if any ransom demands have been made.

Regional security analysts emphasize that resolving such incidents requires both immediate tactical responses and longer-term strategies to address the underlying security challenges in Nigeria’s vulnerable northern regions.