Pope Leo XIV has asked for the release of more than 300 hostages who were taken from the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, which is in the Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger state.
He said, “I was very sad to hear that priests, faithful, and students were kidnapped in Nigeria and Cameroon.”
Channels TV reported that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced yesterday that gunmen had taken more than 300 children and teachers from the Niger State institution.
Leo added, “I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages.” He also said he was “deeply sorry, especially for the many young boys and girls who were kidnapped and for their anguished families.”
At the close of the Angelus prayer today, he stated, “Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours and that churches and schools may always and everywhere be safe and hopeful places.”
In the early hours of Friday, the attackers broke into the institution, which is supposed to be a private Catholic school.
Sources say that there were a lot of shooters who came, riding on more than 60 motorcycles and driving a van.
People alleged they shot the school guardian, who was badly hurt.
A person in Agwara who corroborated the event said, “Yes, it happened between 3 and 4 a.m.” We don’t know how many students were taken yet.
Another source said that some teachers were also taken without their will during the attack.
On Monday, gunmen broke into a secondary school in Kebbi state and took 25 girls.
As US President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he called the persecution of Christians by radical Islamists in Nigeria, two abduction operations and an attack on a church in Kwara State murdered two people and took dozens of others.
Information on kidnappings in Niger
Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger State, gave an update on the St. Mary’s Schools kidnapping that happened yesterday. He said that 315 people were kidnapped, not the 227 that had been reported earlier.
After a verification exercise, he delivered the update, and a final census was done.
A breakdown of the new data showed that 303 children and 12 teachers were affected.
Yohanna added, “After we left Papiri School, we decided to make calls, do a verification exercise, and ask more questions about those we thought had escaped successfully. We found out that 88 more students had also been caught after they tried to escape.”
“We were interested when several parents whose kids we assumed had escaped the attack came to ask about their kids. We got interested, so we ran a census and found out that they had been taken.
“This now makes it 303 students (both boys and girls), including 12 teachers (4 girls and 8 boys), for a total of 315 people who have been kidnapped.”
He claimed that before the incident, there were 629 students and learners, with 430 in primary school and 199 in secondary school.
“Without Warning”
He also talked about the widely held belief that there were smart reports before the kidnapping.
“Also, it’s quite important that we talk about the idea that the government or security agencies gave warnings before, as some people have said.
“I just got back to the village tonight after visiting the school, where I also met with the parents of the children to reassure them that we are working with the government and security agencies to get our kids back safely. However, I was met with what I call “propaganda” that the school had been warned ahead of time by the government through a circular.
“That’s not true; we didn’t get any circular. It must have been an afterthought and a way to shift blame.” In 2022, when we heard rumors of a security threat, we didn’t think twice and shut down right away. “Will we now not obey when the government sends us a circular telling us to shut down?”
He said that the institution in question is owned by the Catholic Diocese and not by any one person, as was previously reported.
“The Catholic Diocese owns the school, not any one person. The Reverend Sisters did not go to Abuja, as they said they would. The person who made that erroneous claim should know that it is false and should either take it back or offer proof.
We questioned the Education Secretary if he got a circular, and he answered no. We also asked him if he was told to send any to us, and he said no. We asked him if he was told verbally, and he responded no again. They should be able to tell the world who they sent the circular to or how they sent it.
“We also contacted the National Association of Private Schools, and they said they didn’t get any such circular. They said that the school had closed and then opened again a few days later, which is also not accurate. “We follow the law.”
About the Author
