Over 300 students were abducted by Nigerian gunmen from Catholic school

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) claims that as security concerns rise in Africa’s most populous nation, 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were killed by gunmen in the St. Mary’s Catholic School attack on Friday in north-central Nigeria.

According to a statement from the Most Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger State chapter of CAN, who visited the school on Friday, an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren was revealed on Saturday and was changed to “after a verification exercise and a final census was conducted.”

The attack comes just before noon on Monday morning, in a town in neighboring Kebbi State’s Maga town, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away from where 25 schoolgirls were abducted in similar circumstances. 24 people are still missing, including one girl who later escaped.

Authorities claim that tactical squads have been deployed alongside local hunters to rescue the children, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the two abductions.

Although St. Mary’s is categorized as a secondary school, satellite images reveal that it is connected to a nearby primary school with more than 50 buildings, including classrooms and dormitories, with more than 50 buildings. The complex is located in Papiri town, which is close to the major thoroughfare that connects Yelwa and Mokwa.

Residents described frantic family searches for missing children as scenes of panic.

Four of his grandchildren, ages 7 to 10, were taken, according to Dauda Chekula, 62.

He told The Associated Press news agency, “We don’t know what is happening right now, because we haven’t heard anything since this morning.” The children who were able to escape have dispersed, and we are only informed that the attackers are still moving into the bush along with the rest of the children.

Authorities had previously been informed of increased threats in the area, according to a statement from the Niger State government’s secretary on Friday. According to the statement, the school reopened “without notifying or seeking approval from the State Government, exposing students and staff to avoidable risk.”

Following the abductions, President Bola Tinubu canceled his trip to South Africa’s G20 summit. The presidency confirmed on X that Vice President Kashim Shettima would be present.

The government of Nigeria’s government, which claims Muslims are the majority victims of attacks by armed groups, threatened military action following the school kidnappings and an attack on a church earlier this week.