Mass Kidnapping at Nigerian Catholic School Sees 315 Students and Teachers Abducted
[Suggested image placeholder: Aerial view of a rural Nigerian school compound]
Authorities in Nigeria have confirmed that 315 students and teachers were abducted from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, a figure that has risen sharply from initial estimates and marks one of the largest mass kidnappings in the country’s recent history.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) revised the toll on Saturday, November 22nd, following a detailed verification process. The initial count of 227 missing individuals was updated after investigators discovered that 88 more students had been captured after initially attempting to flee the assailants.
Revised Figures and School Impact
Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, the Catholic bishop of the Kontagora diocese, provided the breakdown: 303 students—both boys and girls—and 12 teachers were taken from St. Mary’s School in Papiri. This represents nearly half of the school’s total enrollment of 629 students, devastating the rural community in the Agwarra local government area.
The mass abduction has triggered immediate security responses across the region. Authorities in the neighboring states of Katsina and Plateau have ordered the closure of all schools as a precautionary measure, while the Niger State government has shut down numerous educational institutions.
National Crisis and International Repercussions
The scale of the kidnapping has prompted Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, to cancel his international commitments, including his planned participation in the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to focus on managing the crisis.
Widespread School Closures
This incident represents the second major school abduction within a week, following the kidnapping of 25 high school girls from the northwestern state of Kebbi. The back-to-back abductions have exposed the persistent security vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s educational institutions, particularly in regions where state presence remains limited.
Context of Criminal Activity and Security Challenges
For years, heavily armed criminal gangs—locally referred to as “bandits”—have intensified attacks in rural areas of northwestern and central Nigeria. These groups have established camps in a vast forest spanning multiple states, including Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger, from where they conduct kidnappings for ransom that have killed thousands.
The latest abduction revives traumatic memories of Nigeria’s 2014 Chibok kidnapping, where Boko Haram jihadists abducted nearly 300 girls from a school in Borno State. Some of those victims remain missing more than a decade later, highlighting the enduring challenge of mass kidnappings in the country.
The incident occurs amid heightened international attention on Nigeria’s security situation and follows recent violence at a church in western Nigeria that left two people dead. These developments have drawn concern from international observers about the stability of Africa’s most populous nation.
Source: https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/11/22/au-nigeria-315-eleves-et-enseignants-d-une-ecole-catholique-enleves-selon-un-nouveau-bilan_6654035_3212.html