Armed individuals abducted 303 children and 12 educators during an assault on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution. Initial assessments indicated at least 52 had been kidnapped, with the count subsequently rising to over 200 children before settling on the definitive figure of 303.
Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who visited the school on Friday, issued a statement confirming the total number of kidnapped individuals was determined “after a verification exercise and a final census was carried out.” The Associated Press reported that the abducted students included both male and female individuals, ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old.
According to the AP, no group has yet claimed accountability for the attack. The news agency further noted that authorities declared tactical units and local hunters were actively engaged in efforts to rescue the abducted children.
Following the incident, the state government announced that St. Mary’s School had reopened despite warnings of elevated threats. However, Yohanna refuted this assertion, as reported by the AP.
“We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he stated, according to the AP.
The attack at St. Mary’s follows a similar event earlier this week where armed assailants kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staff member. The search for these abducted schoolgirls is still ongoing.
Nigeria has experienced a succession of attacks targeting Christians and their institutions, which led President to classify the West African nation as a “country of particular concern.” Despite this, the Nigerian government has challenged the U.S.’s assertions.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz organized an event focusing on the persistent violence in Nigeria. During the occasion, Waltz described the slayings of Christians in Nigeria as “genocide wearing the mask of chaos.” He was accompanied by rap superstar , who championed religious freedom for everyone.