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Nigeria Closes Schools and Ramps Up Search After Mass Abduction at St. Mary’s

Scrutiny of stalled Safe School protections intensifies following widespread closures.

The mother of a missing child sits on the ground, as parents are still searching for their children days after armed people abducted students and teachers of St. Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School, in Niger, Nigeria, November 24, 2025.  Reuters TV via REUTERS     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Police officers walk after disembarking a vehicle, as parents are still searching for their children days after armed people abducted students and teachers of St. Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School, in Niger, Nigeria, November 24, 2025.  Reuters TV via REUTERS
Emmanuel Bala, Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association of St. Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School, speaks as parents are still searching for their children days after armed people abducted students and teachers of St. Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School, in Niger, Nigeria, November 24, 2025.  Reuters TV via REUTERS
The mother of a missing child speaks, as parents are still searching for their children days after armed people abducted students and teachers of St. Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School, in Niger, Nigeria, November 24, 2025.  Reuters TV via REUTERS

Overview

  • The Christian Association of Nigeria says 303 students and 12 staff were seized from St. Mary’s in Papiri on November 21, though officials dispute the total and roughly 50 students were reported to have escaped.
  • A teacher described gunmen tying her husband, threatening to shoot their crying child, and taking staff away, with 12 employees among those still held.
  • Security forces and local vigilantes are searching for the captives as President Bola Tinubu pledges rescues and announces plans to hire 30,000 additional police officers.
  • Authorities shut 47 federal secondary schools and some states restricted or suspended classes, disrupting learning for thousands as protection measures are reassessed.
  • The Senate ordered a probe of the Safe School Fund and rights groups cite weak implementation, noting only 528 schools are registered under the safety program despite nationwide vulnerabilities.