215 Students, 12 Staff Abducted In Niger School – CAN
The Christian Association of Nigeria, Niger State chapter, has disclosed that the gunmen who invaded the premises of St. Mary’s school, a Catholic institution in Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area of the state, on Friday, abducted over 215 students and 12 staff.
The Chairman of Niger CAN, Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said 227 persons, comprising 215 students and 12 teachers, were abducted during the attack.
“I just returned from the community this night after I visited the school. I met with some parents of the children and assured them that efforts are being made in collaboration with the government and security agencies to ensure that the children are rescued and brought back safely.
“From our records, 215 pupils and students and 12 teachers were abducted by the terrorists. During the attack, some students escaped and parents have started coming to pick their children because the school has to be shut down”, he said.
The official number of students abducted from the school cannot be verified as the state government and the police are yet to provide adequate information on it.
The terrorists reportedly stormed the school around 2am and shot the security guard before gaining access to the school hostel.
A truck seized from the community was reportedly used to move the students out of the school. But the truck was later abandoned after it developed a fault and the children were taken into the forest on foot.
The Niger State government, in a statement blamed the management of the school for the incident.
The Secretary to the State government, Abubakar Usman, who issued the statement, said the state received an intelligence report of increased security threats in the area and ordered the closure of all boarding schools, but St Mary’s School failed to comply.
“This unfortunate incident comes despite a prior intelligence report obtained by the government indicating an increased threat level in parts of the Niger North Senatorial District. In response to these credible security alerts, the state government had earlier issued a clear directive suspending all construction activities and ordering the temporary closure of all boarding schools within the affected zone as a precautionary measure.
“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the state government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” he said.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
