KADUNA, NGERIA - MARCH 24: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - 'NIGERIAN ARMY / HANDOUT' - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Children rescued by Nigerian soldiers are seen inside the bus in Kanuda, Nigeria on March 24, 2024. Nigeria on Sunday said troops have rescued students who were abducted from a school in the town of Kuriga, Kaduna state earlier this month. Army spokesman Edward Buba, in a statement shared with Anadolu, said the victims were rescued in the early hours by troops with support from local authorities and government in the state of Zamfara. Buba put the number of the rescued victims at 137, comprising 76 female and 61 male, adding that they would be handed over to the state government. (Photo by Nigerian Army / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria said Saturday, updating an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren.
The tally was changed “after a verification exercise and a final census were carried out,” according to a statement issued by the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger state chapter of CAN, who visited the school on Friday.
He said 88 other students “were also captured after they tried to escape” during the attack. The students were both male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.
The school kidnapping in Niger state’s remote Papiri community happened four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighbouring Kebbi state’s Maga town, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions, and authorities have said tactical squads have been deployed alongside local hunters to rescue the children.
Yohanna described as false a claim from the state government that the school had reopened for studies despite an earlier directive for schools in that part of Niger State to close temporarily due to security threats.
“We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he said, calling on families “to remain calm and prayerful.”
School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, and armed gangs often see schools as “strategic” targets to draw more attention.
UNICEF said last year that only 37% of schools across 10 of the conflict-hit states have early warning systems to detect threats.
Niger state has now shut down all schools as a measure to forestall other kidnappings. The decision was in a bid to protect lives and property, Niger Gov. Umar Bago told reporters Saturday after meeting with security officials in Minna.
“It is the decision of stakeholders today to close all schools in Niger State. All schools are closed till further notice. So we have declared a Christmas holiday for all schools in Niger State,” Bago said.
The kidnappings are happening amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of targeted killings against Christians in the West African country. Attacks in Nigeria affect both Christians and Muslims. The school attack earlier this week in Kebbi state was in a Muslim-majority town.
The attack also took place as Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu was visiting the U.S. where he met Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.
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