Number of Children Abducted From Nigerian Catholic School Rises to Over 300

In Nigeria’s deadliest school abduction in recent years, armed gunmen have kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Niger state. The victims, both male and female students ranging in age from 10 to 18, were taken during a coordinated attack that has shocked the nation and drawn international concern.

The scale of the abduction became clear only after authorities conducted a verification exercise. Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the numbers after visiting the school on Friday. Initial reports had suggested a much lower number of approximately 52 kidnapped individuals.

“After a verification exercise and a final census was carried out, we determined the full extent of this tragedy,” Yohanna stated. The sight of empty dormitories and scattered personal belongings at the school grounds painted a grim picture of the attack’s aftermath.

Nigerian authorities have deployed tactical squads and enlisted the help of local hunters to rescue the abducted children and staff members. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, though the region has experienced similar attacks in the past.

A dispute has emerged over whether the school had been warned about potential threats. State government officials claimed St. Mary’s School had reopened despite explicit warnings of increased danger. However, Yohanna strongly refuted this assertion, stating, “We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame.”

The attack at St. Mary’s follows another recent incident in Nigeria’s Kebbi State, where armed assailants kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school and killed at least one staff member. The search for those victims continues, highlighting the persistent threat to educational institutions in the country.

Nigeria’s northern and central regions have experienced escalating violence against civilians in recent years, with armed groups targeting schools, places of worship, and rural communities. The attacks have created a humanitarian crisis and severely disrupted education, with many families reluctant to send children to school due to safety concerns.

These mass kidnappings for ransom have become a lucrative business for criminal groups in Nigeria, particularly in the northwest. According to security analysts, the ransoms demanded can range from thousands to millions of dollars, though the amounts are rarely disclosed publicly when payments are made to secure releases.

The targeting of Christian institutions has added a religious dimension to the security crisis. Earlier this week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz described the killings of Christians in Nigeria as “genocide wearing the mask of chaos” during an event highlighting the violence. The event featured rap star Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom.

The Nigerian government has disputed characterizations of the violence as religiously motivated, pointing instead to complex socioeconomic factors and criminal opportunism. However, President Donald Trump recently declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” regarding religious persecution.

International organizations have called for urgent action to address the security situation. UNICEF has repeatedly warned about the impact of school attacks on education in Nigeria, with hundreds of schools closed and thousands of children out of school due to safety concerns.

The Nigerian government faces mounting pressure to improve security in vulnerable regions and develop more effective strategies to combat kidnapping networks. Critics argue that ransom payments, though often necessary to save lives, have inadvertently fueled the kidnapping industry by providing financial incentives for armed groups.

As search and rescue efforts continue for the students and teachers from St. Mary’s School, families wait in anguish, hoping for the safe return of their loved ones in a crisis that shows no signs of abating.