In a devastating security breach that has shaken Nigeria, armed militants have abducted more than 300 students and teachers from St. Mary's Catholic School in Niger State. This mass kidnapping represents one of the largest school abductions in the country's troubled history and marks the second such incident within a single week.
The Papiri School Attack
The early morning raid occurred on November 21, 2025, when gunmen stormed St. Mary's co-educational school in Papiri, located in Agwarra local government area of Niger State. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which confirmed the incident on November 22, the attackers seized 315 students and teachers during the operation.
Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, Chairman of CAN in Niger state and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, documented the aftermath through photographs showing distraught relatives gathered in the school courtyard. This attack came just days after another kidnapping incident on November 17, 2025, where 25 girls were taken from a secondary school in neighboring Kebbi State.
Nigeria's Troubling History of Mass Abductions
This latest incident continues a disturbing pattern that began over a decade ago with the infamous Chibok girls kidnapping. Criminal gangs and Islamist militants have repeatedly targeted remote boarding schools where security presence is minimal, making students and staff vulnerable to abduction for ransom payments.
Most victims are eventually released after negotiations between authorities and the kidnappers, though the psychological trauma and financial costs to families and communities remain devastating.
Major Kidnapping Incidents That Shook Nigeria
The Chibok Girls Abduction (April 2014): Boko Haram jihadists attacked a girls' school in Chibok, Borno State, kidnapping nearly 300 schoolgirls. The incident sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls movement. While some girls escaped, others were released or rescued, with dozens still missing as late as 2024.
Kankara Boys Kidnapping (December 2020): A criminal gang abducted 344 pupils from a boys boarding school in Katsina State. The kidnapping occurred while then-President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting his home state. The students were released days later.
Zamfara Jangebe Raid (February 2021): Kidnappers seized 279 female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe village. The girls reported being forced to walk miles to bandit camps before their release after negotiations.
Bethel Baptist School (July 2021): Gunmen stormed Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna State, abounding approximately 120 pupils from their dormitories. By this time, around 1,000 schoolchildren had been kidnapped in various raids since the beginning of the year.
Kaduna Train Attack (March 2022): In one of Nigeria's most high-profile kidnapping incidents, gunmen used explosives to derail a train traveling from Abuja to Kaduna, killing eight people and kidnapping dozens of passengers.
Kuriga High School (March 2024): Dozens of gunmen dressed in military uniforms kidnapped more than 100 students from Kuriga High School in Kaduna. The military later rescued 137 pupils.
Mounting Security Crisis
The repeated mass abductions highlight the severe security challenges facing Africa's most populous nation. The long-running Islamist insurgency has claimed over 40,000 lives since 2009, with criminal gangs increasingly adopting kidnapping as a lucrative enterprise.
Security experts note that the problem has evolved from primarily Islamist militant activities to include criminal gangs seeking ransom payments, creating a complex security landscape that continues to endanger Nigeria's educational system and youth.
