The Federal Government has reportedly secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Marys Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
The incident occurred on 21 November 2025, when armed bandits invaded the remote Papiri community. Arriving around 2:00 a.m. on motorbikes, the attackers stormed the school dormitories for nearly three hours and whisked away 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers.
Security operatives, supported by local hunters, were immediately deployed to comb the surrounding forests in search of the abductees. Within the first 24 hours, 50 pupils escaped and were reunited with their families.
In a statement issued in Minna by his media aide, Prince Dan Atori, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger State, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, clarified the actual figures. He said that aside from the 50 pupils who escaped, 141 pupils were never abducted. According to him, this leaves 236 pupils, three children belonging to staff, and 14 secondary school students, totalling 253 children, as well as 12 staff members with the abductors.
Following the attack, the Federal Government imposed a 24 hour security cordon around the area and launched aerial surveillance operations across parts of Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states.
With the latest release of 100 pupils confirmed by the Federal Government, 153 children and 12 teachers remain in captivity.
