NIGER State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has confirmed that 315 pupils were abducted from a Catholic school in the state.
The governor disclosed this on Friday during the inauguration of commissioners, as well as elected local government chairmen and their deputies, where he observed a minute of silence in honour of two parents of the abducted pupils who reportedly died from shock.
“Oh God we beseech you to rescue Niger state, rescue our children and restore unto us lasting peace. Those who chose the wrong path, God please redirect them,” he said.
Bago had earlier denied the news of the abduction of school children at St Mary’s Catholic School while speaking on TVC where he said that the bandits only came to the school but did not abduct anyone.
He said that bandits only shot sporadically into the air to scare the children before taking their leave, while the children fled and hid in the bush, but later admitted the abduction without specifying how many students and teachers were abducted.
The ICIR reported that terrorists invaded St Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area on November 21 2025, whisking 315 pupils, students and a teacher to an unknown destination in the forest.
An in-depth report on the attack by the ICIR revealed that a parent died of a heart attack following the news of the abduction.
Anthony Musa did not live long enough to see whether his children would regain freedom before he slumped and took his last breath.
For days, the father of three, each of them among the pupils kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, had been shuttling between phone calls, community meetings and sleepless nights, clinging to the hope that some news, any news, would break the silence around the abduction. But the weight of uncertainty proved heavier than his already fragile body could bear and later died at the New Bussa General Hospital.
The State Government later announced that fifty of the students escaped from the terrorists after two days, and the Federal Government announced the rescue of 100 after nearly two weeks.
President Bola Tinubu, while welcoming the return of the 100 students, immediately renewed efforts to secure the release of the remaining 115 pupils and their teachers, directing security agencies to intensify operations and ensure.
The governor in his latest remark prayed for the safe return of the remaining 115 abductees and promised to compensate the indigenes of Papiri with political appointments to ensure that residents of the communities were carried along in the political scheme of the state.
“Three weeks ago, we woke up with the terrifying news of the abduction of our children and teachers, thank God we have rescued 100 and we hope that the remaining are rescued and reunited with their families soon,” he said.
The governor appreciated God that Niger State was still united after the incident.
“Let us put the old aside and embrace a new Niger. We want a new Niger where the son of a nobody can become somebody. It is time to retract our steps.
Media reports indicate that Bago had earlier denied the news of the abduction of school children at St Mary’s Catholic School while speaking on TVC where he said that the bandits only came to the school but did not abduct anyone.
He said that bandits only shot sporadically into the air to scare the children before taking their leave, while the children fled and hid in the bush.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.