Fifty of the 315 children kidnapped from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State on Friday have managed to escape, bringing a moment of relief to families anxiously waiting for news. They have since been reunited with their parents, according to local Christian leaders.
A major security operation involving the military, police, and community vigilantes is underway to locate the remaining 265 children and 12 teachers still missing. The search now stretches across forests and remote routes believed to have been used by the gunmen.
The attack prompted authorities in several states to order immediate school closures, including in Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Yobe, and Kwara. This came after another incident in Kebbi earlier in the week, where 25 pupils were taken from a boarding school.
President Bola Tinubu has responded by authorizing the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers and redeploying officers previously assigned to VIP protection back to core security duties, especially in areas vulnerable to attacks.
Families in Papiri village, where St Mary’s is located, say they feel abandoned as they wait for updates. Many expected a stronger security presence following the abduction, but residents say no additional forces have arrived.
The escape of the 50 children took place between Friday and Saturday and is being described as a courageous and risky effort to break free from their captors. The mass kidnapping is one of the largest in Nigeria’s history, surpassing even the Chibok school abduction of 2014.
Local officials say armed men entered the school around 2am on Friday. The Niger State governor ordered schools in the area to shut down, urging the public to remain focused on rescue efforts rather than blame.
Parents shared heartbreaking stories of fear and uncertainty. One mother said her nieces, aged six and 13, were among those taken, pleading for their safe return. Another parent whose children were spared described the attack as devastating for the entire community.
Authorities say St Mary’s School had been warned to close its boarding facilities due to intelligence reports of heightened risk. The school has yet to respond to those claims.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, similar incidents were reported last week. More than 20 girls were kidnapped from a school in Kebbi, and 14 farmers were taken in Borno, where one woman was later rescued. In Kwara State, 38 people abducted from a church service were freed, though two people were killed during the attack.
The rise in kidnappings has intensified national frustration. While some international voices have framed the violence as targeting Christians, Nigerian officials say the attackers pose a threat to everyone—Muslims, Christians, and those of no faith—emphasizing that the motives often involve criminal profit or local resource disputes rather than religion.
Nigeria continues to battle long-running insecurity, including attacks by armed groups in the north-east and communal clashes in central regions. The government maintains that it is working to restore safety across affected areas, but many families remain in anguish as the search for hundreds of children continues.