Over 200 students, teachers kidnapped in attack on Niger Catholic school

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger State, Bulus Yohanna, has said that over 200 students and teachers were kidnapped when gunmen attacked a Catholic school in the state.

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Mr Yohanna, who said he has visited the school, stated this in a statement late Friday.

“From our record, 215 pupils and students including 12 teachers were abducted by the terrorists,” Mr Yohanna said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the Friday morning attack on St Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Niger State, north-central Nigeria, with locals saying over 50 students were kidnapped.

The police confirmed the attack but have not announced the number of people kidnapped.

The police spokesperson in Niger, Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that armed men attacked the school around 2 a.m. on Friday.

“Some armed bandits invaded St Mary’s Private Catholic Secondary School and abducted a yet to be ascertained number of students from the school’s hostel,” he said.

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“Teams have moved to the scene and are combing the forests with a view to rescuing the abducted students.”

The attack on the Niger school occurred a few days after armed persons kidnapped 24 students from a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi State. The vice principal of the Kebbi school was killed in that attack.

The Friday attack in Niger also occurred two days after gunmen attacked a church in neighbouring Kwara State, kidnapping many worshippers. There are no indications yet that the three attacks were carried out by the same group.

Such attacks are common in many parts of Nigeria where various armed groups with different motives operate. The attacks have, however, increased in recent weeks.

The worsening security situation informed the decision of President Bola Tinubu to cancel his trip to South Africa to attend the G2O summit.

The presidency said on Friday that Mr Tinubu had to “cancel his departure and delegated Mr Shettima to represent him, as he remains in Nigeria to receive security briefings following the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi and the attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.”

READ ALSO: UPDATED: Nigerian govt vows swift rescue of 25 kidnapped schoolgirls

The attacks have already led to the closure of hundreds of schools in Nigeria due to security concerns.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the federal government on Friday announced the closure of 47 federal secondary schools, called unity schools. In Katsina, the state government announced the closure of all primary and secondary schools in the state while the Plateau State Government announced the closure of all primary and junior secondary schools in the state.