Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
3d ago

Two Weeks After Papiri School Abduction, Parents Wait as Tally Remains in Dispute

Families report scarce updates from authorities, with the number missing still in dispute.

Martha Mathias, a teacher whose husband was kidnapped, 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.
Members of the Emir of Minna's royal guard stand before prayers outside Minna's Central Mosque
Worshippers leave the Minna mosque where emotional locals gathered in the wake of one of Nigeria's worst mass kidnappings
Bunk beds in a dormitory of St. Mary's School, in Papiri, Niger state, Nigeria, in an undated handout image obtained by Reuters on November 23, 2025, following reports of a kidnapping of more than 300 children and staff from the Catholic school on November 21, 2025. Social Communications Department/Catholic Diocese of Kontagora/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • Conflicting counts persist, with church leaders citing 303 children plus 12 staff abducted, police listing 215 students still captive, and about 50 pupils having escaped soon after the raid.
  • Parents describe minimal information from officials and say police only began registering the missing a week after the attack in a remote area with poor communications.
  • National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu told Catholic leaders the children are doing fine and would return soon, but authorities have provided no public proof of their condition or location.
  • President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the recruitment of thousands more soldiers and police as searches and operations continue.
  • The abductors’ identities are unknown, no ransom demand has been reported, and Amnesty International says nearly 20,500 schools were closed across seven northern states after the attack.