An unknown number of students have been kidnapped by armed men from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, marking the second kidnapping at a school in less than a week.
The latest attack targeted St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, where authorities had already ordered the temporary closure of all boarding schools due to growing security threats.
Details are still unclear, but residents fear that around 100 students and staff may have been detained during the early morning raid.
Nigeria has faced a new wave of attacks by armed groups in recent days, including the kidnapping on Monday of more than 20 schoolgirls from a boarding school in nearby Kebbi state.
Police said armed men, known locally as bandits, stormed St Mary’s School on Friday at around 02:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and abducted an unconfirmed number of students from their hostel.
Fear and uncertainty have taken over the area as families wait for news.
Niger state authorities said the school had ignored an order to close all boarding schools following intelligence warnings about an increased risk of attacks.
“Regrettably, St Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume its academic activities without notifying or seeking permission from the state government, thereby exposing students and staff to avoidable risks,” they said in a statement.
Police said security agencies were “combing the forests with a view to rescuing the kidnapped students.”
The attack follows claims by US President Donald Trump that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria, an accusation rejected by the Nigerian government.
Earlier this month, Trump said he would send troops to Nigeria “with guns” if his government “continues to allow the murder of Christians.”
The Nigerian government has rejected these claims, calling them “a serious misrepresentation of reality.”
One official stated that “terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology: Muslims, Christians and those without faith alike.”
On Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on a church in the southwestern state of Kwara, killing two people and kidnapping 38 others as the service was streamed online.
However, the BBC has learned that the students kidnapped earlier this week in Kebbi state were Muslims. Two managed to escape and 23 are still missing.
President Bola Tinubu this week postponed his foreign trips to deal with the rising wave of attacks in Africa’s most populous country.
