Overview
- The Christian Association of Nigeria says 303 students and 12 teachers were seized in a pre-dawn raid on St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state.
- CAN reports 50 abducted children escaped between Friday and Saturday and reunited with families, leaving about 253 students and 12 teachers still in captivity.
- No group has claimed responsibility, and security forces with tactical units and local hunters are combing forested areas near the Yelwa–Mokwa corridor.
- Niger state closed all schools and the federal education ministry ordered 47 boarding colleges shut, while President Bola Tinubu canceled his G20 trip to manage the crisis.
- CAN disputes the state’s claim that the school defied a closure directive, and Pope Leo XIV issued a public appeal for the hostages’ immediate release.