Nigeria TV Info 

Terrorists Raid Catholic School in Niger State — Students and Staff Feared Missing

Papiri, Agwara LGA, Niger State

A midnight assault by armed men on St. Mary’s School, Papiri, a Catholic boarding institution in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, has left an undetermined number of students and staff missing, authorities said.

According to local government officials, the attackers struck between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., breaching the school compound and abducting an unconfirmed number of pupils and personnel.

The state government, through its Secretary to the Government, Abubakar Usman, issued a statement expressing “deep sadness” at the incident and confirmed that the exact number of abductees is still being verified as security agencies mobilise to assess the situation.

The school, which caters to secondary-school students, reportedly reopened despite prior warnings about heightened threats to boarding institutions in the region. In its statement, the Niger State government said: “Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and staff to avoidable risk.”

The attack comes amid a wave of mass abductions of students in northern Nigeria. Just days earlier, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in neighbouring Kebbi State.

The school’s Catholic diocese, Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, confirmed that security personnel on duty were attacked and one staff member was “badly shot” during the raid. They are working with government and community leaders toward the safe release of those taken.

Security agencies are currently combing nearby forests and major roads for signs of the abductees, while parents and teachers await more precise information about who has been taken and who may have escaped.

The resurgence of such attacks on educational institutions underscores the grave insecurity facing Nigeria’s northern and central regions, where poorly protected boarding schools have repeatedly been targeted by criminal gangs and insurgents.