Police in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State say a group of armed bandits stormed a private Catholic school early Friday, abducting hundreds of students in a shocking escalation of violence against Christian communities in the country.
Despite some students managing to flee during the assault, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed that 215 students and 12 teachers were taken by the attackers.
Parents rushed to the school premises in the aftermath of the raid as authorities began preparing to shut the institution down. CAN’s Niger State chairman, Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who visited the scene and spoke with affected families, said the group is working closely with the government and security agencies to secure the victims’ safe return.
Images from the school dormitories show disarray after the abduction, highlighting the scale and suddenness of the attack.
The assault on St. Mary’s School comes just days after a similar incident in neighboring Kwara State, where gunmen attacked a church, killing at least two people and abducting several worshippers, including the pastor.
Earlier this week, armed men also kidnapped 25 female students from a government girls’ boarding school in Kebbi State, killing the school’s vice principal during the invasion.
The Niger State government condemned the latest abduction, saying the “exact number” of those taken is still being verified. Police officials said security forces have been deployed and are currently “combing the forests” in an attempt to locate and rescue the victims.
Nigeria has been grappling with a wave of mass kidnappings, inter-communal violence, and religiously motivated attacks, much of it carried out by armed groups seeking ransom or exploiting longstanding ethnic and land-use conflicts.
The surge in Christian-targeted attacks has drawn strong reactions from the United States. President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced outrage over what he describes as a “mass slaughter” of Christians—claims that remain disputed—and has even threatened military action in response. Earlier this month, he designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.
The latest spate of violence coincides with the arrival of a high-level Nigerian delegation in Washington, where officials have held meetings with U.S. defense and state department leaders amid rising tensions.
