ON November 21, terrorists stormed St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School at Papiri in Niger State, abducting 253 students and 12 staff members in one of the state’s largest school kidnappings in recent years. The ICIR speaks with parents, teachers and community members as they recount the horrific night.
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.
On Monday morning, he died at the New Bussa General Hospital.
Residents said the anxiety of the past days had worsened his hypertension, pushing him into repeated bouts of distress as families in the community waited desperately for word from the armed men who took the children.
In the days before he died, Anthony moved restlessly from one place to another, asking if anyone had heard anything. Sometimes he sat quietly under a tree near his home, staring into the distance. Other times, he tried to reassure his family, even as his own fear tightened around him.
Now his three children remained in captivity, while he has lost his life without ever knowing their fate.
Anthony was among the parents whose lives were shattered when terrorists attacked St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School and abducted children. It was expected to be a quiet night, and most people were asleep. But inside the school’s dormitories, children were soon startled awake by the sound of footsteps, hurried voices and cries for help — the beginning of a raid that would plunge an entire community into fear and uncertainty.
By dawn, dozens of pupils and several staff members had been taken. The ICIR gathered that 265 people were abducted, among them 253 students and 12 staff members. Residents said the 50 students who were initially reported as having escaped were not actually kidnapped; they went missing during the chaos and were later found by their parents.
The unforgettable night
Martha Mathias, one of the teachers at St. Mary Catholic Primary and Secondary School who witnessed the attack recalls with vivid clarity. Around 1 a.m., the school compound was shattered by the sound of children screaming for help.
The bandits moved through the students’ hostel first, gathering the children and forcing them into lines, questioning them about their parents and teachers. Panic spread quickly, and teachers and staff were soon caught in the chaos. Martha’s husband was pulled from his room and tied up, along with other colleagues, as the assailants secured the school.
Inside her quarters, Mathias tried to shield her four children from the intruders. One of her daughters woke up during the raid and cried out in fear, prompting the bandits to threaten her with guns before allowing Mathias to stay with her children.
The ordeal was terrifying and chaotic, with the attackers scattering belongings, taking cash, and moving students and staff into waiting vehicles.
According to her, the bandits arrived in multiple cars and on motorcycles, their numbers large enough to overwhelm the school’s defence. Children as young as five and as old as nineteen were taken, leaving families shocked and frustrated.
In the hours and days that followed, parents struggled for information. Many had not heard from their children or the government, and rumours of rescued students added to the uncertainty. Some children managed to escape to neighbouring houses, but the whereabouts of the rest remained unknown.
Insecurity and education
Agwara, a remote local government area in north-western Niger State, lies close to the border with the Benin Republic. The area is made up of small, scattered farming and fishing communities connected by long stretches of bush paths and unpaved roads. Within the local government lies Papiri, a quiet community that barely appears in the news.
The community was thrust into the national spotlight due to the abduction incident. It is unclear where the students were taken, but residents said they were likely moved into the vast forests surrounding Kainji National Park. The community is also surrounded by several other natural forests connected by long stretches of bush paths and unpaved roads.
The attack in Papiri came just days after a similar raid in Kebbi State, where gunmen kidnapped 25 students and killed at least one staff member.
The abduction is part of a disturbing pattern of mass kidnappings that have bedevilled the region for over a decade. The first of such incidents to gain global attention occurred in 2014, when Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Hundreds of other students have since been seized, sometimes escaping, sometimes released after ransoms, and in some tragic cases, never returned home.
Niger State itself had experienced a previous school abduction in 2021, when gunmen attacked a science college in Kagara, taking dozens of students and staff. Most were released after more than a week.
The wave of school kidnappings has evolved over the years. In February 2018, a Boko Haram faction targeted a science college in Danchi, Yobe State, abducting 110 schoolgirls. While most were later released, the attack left five students dead, setting a tragic precedent for future raids.
Two years later, in December 2020, the violence spread to the Northwest when gunmen on motorcycles stormed Government Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, taking more than 300 boys. Unlike the Danchi abduction, these students were released after six days, following negotiations between the authorities and the kidnappers, though the trauma for families lingered.
The following year, the violence struck again when over 300 schoolgirls were taken from the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State. These girls were eventually freed after weeks in captivity, reportedly following ransom payments.
As insecurity persisted, Kaduna State became another flashpoint. In March 2021, 39 students were abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, and a month later, armed men attacked Greenfield University, Kaduna, taking at least 20 students. In that case, five were killed when ransom negotiations failed. Several months later, gunmen seized over 100 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Chikun.
More recently, in March 2024, Kuriga in Kaduna State experienced a mass abduction of 287 students. This was followed two days later by a smaller raid on a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto State, where 15 children were taken.
The Nigerian government had launched its Safe School Initiative (SSI) to protect schools, particularly those in high-risk areas like Papiri, from terror attacks. Despite the initiative, which cost billions of naira, the country is still experiencing persistent mass abductions of children at schools.
Agonies of victims’ mothers
Three days after the incident, Karima Segun still languishes in dazed disbelief when she spoke with The ICIR. It was as though she were trying to piece together a nightmare that refuses to end. The strain shows on her face; her voice laced with exhaustion, and her eyes filled with grief.
Her eight-year-old daughter, Clementine, was among the pupils dragged away before dawn that Friday. The little girl had been in primary two, eager and endlessly talking about her dreams of becoming a nurse one day. Now, those dreams are suspended in uncertainty, swallowed by the silence that has followed her abduction.
The night before the attack, Karima received a call at around 2 a.m. It was a call laced with panic from people in Papiri who had seen strange movements near the school. She had no direct contacts there, only unsettling whispers carried across the night. She spent those dark hours praying, hoping the threat would pass with daylight.
But morning brought the worst news imaginable.
“When I heard they invaded the school and took the students, I cried. I left immediately for Papiri.”
By the time she arrived, the abducted children were already gone, marched out of the village before anyone could intervene. Karima lingered around the school grounds, scanning every corner as though her daughter might suddenly appear among those who had managed to escape. No familiar face emerged.
Since then, nothing.
“Whoever sees me can tell I am worried,” she said quietly, her voice thin from days of sleeplessness. “We have not heard anything.”
What pains her most is the memory of Clementine’s promise, spoken with the earnest certainty only a child can carry. The girl often said she wanted to follow in her aunt’s footsteps and become a nurse.
For Ruth Emos, the experience is even more devastating. The 29-year-old mother of five had three children among the abducted: Happiness, Emmanuela, and Gabriel to the incident.
“They called me around 1 a.m. It was my sister who informed me. I was very sad hearing the information.”
Ruth said no one expected the attack. Some villagers reportedly saw suspicious movement the previous evening but assumed the men were simply passing through.
“We never thought they would enter the village,” she said, adding: “We haven’t heard anything from them. We are hoping the kidnappers will call soon. We want the government to help us so our children will be released.”
The Parent-Teacher Association chairman, Emmanuel Bala, was among those who rushed to the school immediately after hearing about the incident.
“When I arrived, the incident had already taken place,” he said. “We were searching for our children everywhere.”
According to him, confusion made it difficult to compile accurate numbers immediately.
“At that very moment, we could not know the exact number of students missing,” he said. “Some escaped into nearby houses. Some hid in the bush. The list was not compiled yet.”
Security operatives arrived later in the morning to inspect the scene.
“They asked questions, but nobody could answer because we didn’t have the complete records yet,” he said.
Regarding reports that the government had rescued 50 students the next day, Bala said the information was likely misunderstood.
“Some children who escaped earlier returned in the morning,” he clarified. “I think those are the ones people counted and said were rescued. No child has been returned by the government as far as we know.”
State government shuts down schools
Following the attack and widespread fear and panic in the state, the Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, ordered the closure of schools across the state.
He also assured Niger citizens of the state government’s unwavering commitment to securing the safe return of the abductees.
Addressing journalists on Saturday after an emergency meeting with service chiefs and key stakeholders at the Government House, Minna, the Governor described the incident as “unfortunate and deeply saddening,” noting that the state woke up to news that should never have happened.
“We woke up yesterday to a very sad and unfortunate incident involving the kidnapping of children from a missionary school in Agwara LGA,” Bago said, adding: “While this situation could have been avoided, this is not the time to apportion blame. Our immediate mission is to ensure the safe rescue of these children, and everyone abducted.”
The governor called on all security agencies, civil society organisations, labour unions, religious leaders, and community stakeholders to rally together and intensify efforts toward the rescue operation.
Presidency declares state of emergency on insecurity, pushes for state police
Following the waves of attacks in recent weeks, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, November 26, declared a nationwide state of emergency on insecurity, ordering massive recruitment into the military and police as attacks and abductions by terrorists escalate across the country.
A statement released by the Presidency noted that the president authorised the police to recruit 20,000 additional officers.
It noted that the development would raise the new intake to 50,000, while also directing the Army and State Security Service (SSS) to immediately enlist more personnel.
The SSS was also ordered to deploy all trained forest guards and hire more hands to flush out armed groups hiding in Nigeria’s forests.
Tinubu approved the use of NYSC camps as temporary police training centres and directed that officers withdrawn from VIP protection be given crash training before deployment to crisis zones.
In the same development, the president announced federal backing for states that have set up their security outfits.
He also called on the National Assembly to begin work on laws that would allow states willing to establish state police to do so.
Fates left hanging
“We send our children to school so they can become better people in the future. We were never told the school environment was unsafe. Nobody warned us anything like this could happen,” lamented Luka Ilya, one of the parents whose child was kidnapped.
His 14-year-old son, Prosper, a primary six student, had been taken. His nephew, Ebenezer, just 10 years old, was also among the children kidnapped from the boarding school.
“We received a call at night that our children had been kidnapped,” Luka said, adding, “We tried calling and calling, but no one at the school was reachable.”
At dawn, around 6 a.m., he rushed to the school with other parents, desperate for answers.
“When we got there, the whole place was quiet. No teachers, no staff. The only ones we saw were some children who escaped. They hid in the nearby bush during the attack and came out when they saw their parents arriving.”
For Luka, the pain cuts deeper because he believed the boarding school would give his son a chance at a better life, steady learning, discipline, and a path out of hardship.
“We are very sad. Our mind is not at rest,” Luka said. “Someone (Anthony) even died because of this. His child is among the kidnapped.”
Following the attack, the school, like several others threatened across the country, is now shut down. At the same time, security forces have launched a manhunt as the families hope for the safe release of their abducted children.
As daylight fades each evening, Luka and the rest of the families in Papiri gather in the school every day, hoping for news as the lives of their children hang by a fraying thread held by merciless terrorists.
Read the terror series here
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.