POPE Leo XIV has urged the immediate release of the abducted schoolgirls of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State.
Pope Leo made the charge at the end of a mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the kidnappings of priests, faithful, and students in Nigeria and Cameroon. I feel great pain, especially for the many young men and women who have been abducted and for their anguished families,” Pope Leo said
“I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release,” he added.
He urged Christians to pray for Nigeria saying “Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours and that churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope.”
The ICIR reported that Before dawn on November 17, 2025, armed men breached the fence of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, killed the vice principal, and abducted 25 schoolgirls a chilling echo of the Chibok, Dapchi, and other mass kidnappings of young girls in Nigeria.
A teacher was killed while trying to protect girls during the attack and a security guard later died in hospital from gunshot wounds.
An official of Danko Wasagu council, Hussaini Aliyu, told the BBC on November 19 that two girls among the 25 students managed to escape, explaining that the girls ran away across farmland as their armed captors were leading them into the bushes.
Aliyu added that though one of the girls needed medical treatment because she hurt her leg while running in the bushes, the girls were “back and are safe.”
Since Monday, a team of soldiers, police and volunteers have been combing forested areas in an attempt to rescue the students, but gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, in a fresh attack and abducted scores of students and teachers, in the early hours of Friday November 21, making it the second mass abduction within a week.
Local sources said the gunmen arrived at the school between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van, and shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries.
The state government has said it is yet to confirm the number of students abducted.
Th ICIR reports that the Senate on November 19 demanded President Bola Tinubu to probe into misuse and poor implementation of the N144.7 billion SSI following the Kebbi abduction, insisting that schools in high-risk zones still have no perimeter fence, CCTV, early warning systems, armed patrols, or emergency evacuation plans.
The Nigerian Senate’s demands reflect widespread concern that political promises have not translated into concrete protection for children, especially girls.
This development has caused security concerns across the country as the Federal Government and some states have led to isolated, state-specific adjustments to school operations.
The Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Binta Abdulkadir, directing the shutting down all 41 Unity Schools in the country with immediate effect over growing spate of abductions.
Similarly, the Plateau, Katsina, Taraba, Adamawa, and Niger State governments directed the immediate closure of all basic schools respectively between late Friday and early Saturday citing urgent need for preventive action.
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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.