FG Secures Release of 100 Students Abducted in Niger State School Attack

FG Secures Release of 100 Students Abducted in Niger State School Attack

The Federal Government has successfully secured the release of 100 students abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.

The tragic incident occurred on November 21, 2025, when armed bandits on motorbikes raided the remote community at around 2:00 a.m., abducting a total of 315 individuals, including 303 students and 12 teachers.

Security forces, supported by local hunters, were immediately mobilised to track the kidnappers across forested areas. Within 24 hours, 50 children escaped and were reunited with their families, while 265 people, including 253 pupils and all 12 teachers, remained in captivity.

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In response, the Federal Government imposed a 24-hour security lockdown in the region and expanded aerial surveillance across Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi States. President Bola Tinubu cancelled an international trip to focus on the rescue operation, while authorities ordered the temporary closure of all schools and federal institutions in high-risk zones.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu met last Monday with parents, school officials, and the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, assuring families that the abducted students “are doing fine and will return soon.”

Ribadu conveyed President Tinubu’s message of hope, emphasising that intensified military and security deployments had already made significant progress.
“God is with them and God is with us. Evil will never win. They are going to come back. I give you that assurance,” he told anxious parents at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral in Kontagora.

FG Secures Release of 100 Students Abducted in Niger State School Attack