In the early hours of 21 November 2025, gunmen stormed St Mary’s Catholic School in the remote community of Papiri, in Niger State, north-central Nigeria. Witnesses say the attackers moved quickly, targeting dormitories and seizing hundreds of students and some staff. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a total of 303 students and 12 staff were abducted. Earlier tallies varied, but after verification, the higher figure was confirmed.
In the immediate aftermath, 50 pupils managed to escape captivity and returned safely to their families. However, that still leaves more than 250 children and all 12 kidnapped staff unaccounted for. The victims include children as young as six (or reports say as young as five), though the majority are school-aged. No group has claimed responsibility so far, and the motives remain unclear. Armed gang activity and “bandit” kidnappings, often for ransom, are widespread in Nigeria’s conflict-prone regions.
For many of the parents, the last two weeks have been unbearable. Anxiety, sleepless nights, and heartbreak have become daily realities. A father whose 14-year-old son was taken described how his wife “constantly cries, barely sleeps,” while they anxiously await news. Families say they have been given little more than vague reassurances. They report that authorities kept them waiting nearly a week before calling them to register their missing children, a burden made heavier by the fact that parents come from different states and distant regions. One of the school staff leaders involved in the registration process emphasized that the numbers were not exaggerated; the abductions are very real.
In response to the kidnapping, the government of Niger State officially shut down all schools in the state, a precautionary move reflecting deepening insecurity. The federal authorities under Bola Tinubu declared a national security emergency and ordered the recruitment of additional security forces: new police officers, increased army deployment, and forest-guard patrols in remote areas. Rescue operations have been launched with tactical squads, local “hunters,” and special units dispatched to track the kidnappers. Still, no solid public update has emerged about the fate or location of the missing children and staff.
This tragic incident is not isolated. According to an analysis by Save the Children, since January 2024, there have been at least 10 school-kidnapping attacks across Nigeria affecting around 670 children, signaling a steep rise in threats to school safety. The surge of kidnappings has forced the closure of thousands of schools across northern and central Nigeria, depriving many children of education and instilling widespread fear among parents. Activists warn that continued violence could devastate educational prospects for a generation of Nigerian children.
Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have strongly called for urgent government action, demanding not only the rescue and release of the abducted but systemic reforms to safeguard schools and communities from future attacks. The kidnapping at St Mary’s in Papiri underscores the grave and mounting security crisis in Nigeria, where children’s safety and their right to education are increasingly under threat. Families remain in anguish, the state scrambles its response, and the affected communities face long, uncertain days waiting for answers
