{"id":313710,"date":"2025-11-23T12:52:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T12:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/armed-assailants-abduct-more-schoolchildren-in-nigeria-national\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T12:52:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T12:52:45","slug":"armed-assailants-abduct-more-schoolchildren-in-nigeria-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=313710","title":{"rendered":"Armed assailants abduct more schoolchildren in Nigeria – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Armed assailants attacked a Catholic boarding school in western Nigeria early Friday, kidnapping several children and staff members, days after 25 schoolgirls were abducted from a neighbouring state and 38 church worshippers were kidnapped in another.<\/p>\n

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Friday\u2019s attack occurred at St. Mary\u2019s School in Agwara Local Government\u2019s Papiri community, Abubakar Usman, the secretary to the Niger State Government, said in a Facebook statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He did not share the number of students and staff kidnapped or who could be responsible for the attack.<\/p>\n

Local media broadcaster Arise TV said 52 schoolchildren were abducted, The Associated Press reported. Nigerian authorities have not confirmed the numbers.<\/p>\n

Military security forces and tactical units were deployed to the scene early Friday, Niger State Police\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>, describing the institution as a secondary school educating children aged 12 to 17.<\/p>\n

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Police received reports of \u201carmed bandits\u201d entering the school around 2 a.m., according to the statement.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tA wall of St. Mary\u2019s School in western Nigeria, where several children and staff members were reportedly kidnapped on Friday.\t\t\t\t<\/span>
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\t\t\t\t\tNigeria Police Force\t\t\t\t<\/cite>
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Satellite images of the school, reviewed by the AP, show that the St. Mary\u2019s campus is connected to an adjoining primary school building and is located near a main road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.<\/p>\n

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According to Usman, the school failed to heed a warning of heightened threats, which he wrote included a clear directive to \u201csuspend all construction activities and to temporarily close all boarding schools within the affected zone as a precautionary measure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRegrettably, St. Mary\u2019s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,\u201d his statement continued.<\/p>\n

He urged schools, community leaders and all stakeholders to \u201cadhere strictly to security advisories issued in the interest of public safety,\u201d saying, \u201cthe protection of lives, especially those of our children, remains the utmost priority of this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to the AP, Umar Yunus, a Papiri resident, said there were only local security arrangements and no official police or government forces securing the school during Friday\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

On the same day, in a separate statement following the incident, Usman said the government had \u201cactivated all necessary security measures to ensure the safe return of the abducted students and to prevent future occurrences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The abductions in Niger state happened days after gunmen attacked the Government Girls\u2019 Comprehensive Secondary School in neighbouring Kebbi state, about 170 km from Papiri, and kidnapped 25 female students.<\/p>\n

One of the girls escaped and is safe, according to the AP. The school\u2019s vice-principal was killed in the incident, according to the First Lady of Kebbi state, Nasare Muhammed Nasir.<\/p>\n

In a statement on her official Instagram<\/a> page, she wrote, \u201cThis heartbreaking incident is a painful reminder of the challenges we continue to face as a nation and as mothers.\u201d<\/p>\n