Armed men attacked a Catholic boarding school in northwestern region of Nigeria and abducted several schoolchildren and staff early Friday. It’s the latest in a spate of abductions in Africa’s most populous country and came just days after 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped in a neighboring state. The latest abduction comes as the country is facing scrutiny from the Trump administration amid ongoing concern about violence against Christians in the West African nation.
The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary’s School in Niger State. Local officials did not disclose the number of students and staff abducted, nor who might be responsible for the attack. Local Nigerian broadcaster Arise TV said 52 schoolchildren were taken.
Nigerian police officials said the abductions took place in the early hours of Friday and that military and security forces have since been deployed to the community. They described St. Mary’s as a secondary school that serves children between the ages of in 12 and 17.
The secretary to the Niger state government, Abubakar Usman, said in a statement that the incident occurred despite prior intelligence warning of heightened threats.
“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,” the statement said.
The abductions took place days after gunmen on Monday attacked a high school and abducted 25 schoolgirls in the neighboring Kebbi state, in Maga, around 105 miles from Papiri. One of the girls later escaped and is safe, the school’s principal said.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu earlier this week postponed his trip to this weekend’s Group of 20 summit after promising to intensify rescue efforts.
Deeni Jibo/AP
“I am heartbroken by the abduction of our daughters in Kebbi and the painful loss of Brigadier General Musa Uba and the brave soldiers who fell in Borno. Their families, and the families of the kidnapped schoolgirls, are in my prayers,” Tinubu said in a social media post Wednesday. “I have directed the security agencies to act swiftly and bring the girls back to Kebbi State.”
Nigeria was recently thrust into the spotlight after President Trump singled the country out, stating that Christians are being persecuted — an allegation that the Nigerian government rejected.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” Mr. Trump said in a Truth social post earlier this month.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar rejected Mr. Trump’s claims in a post on X earlier this month, saying “Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity, and inclusion.”
In October, Mr. Trump designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” in a list of countries that the State Department says have violated religion freedom.
Earlier this week, Tinubu sent his national security adviser and a wider Nigerian delegation to Washington to meet with Trump administration officials and U.S. lawmakers, the Reuters news agency reported Friday.
The White House is considering sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to place pressure on Abuja to better protect Christian communities and religious freedom, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters Thursday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Niger and Kebbi states, but analysts and locals say gangs often target schools, travelers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransom. Authorities say the gunmen are mostly former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over strained resources.
Abductions have come to define the insecurity prevailing in Africa’s most populous nation and the painful consequences.
At least 1,500 students have been abducted in the region since Boko Haram jihadi extremists seized 276 Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago. But bandits are also active in the region, and analysts say gangs often target schools to gain attention.
Analysts and residents blame the insecurity on a failure to prosecute known attackers and the rampant corruption that limits weapons supplies to security forces while ensuring a steady supply to the gangs.
A satellite view shows the school compound, rectangular in shape, surrounded by a wall and attached to an adjoining primary school, with over 50 classroom and dormitory buildings. It is located on the outskirts of the town of Aguara, near the main Yelwa-Mokwa road.