The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has announced that an additional 88 students have been declared missing following Friday’s attack on St. Mary’s Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara local government area of Niger State.
This brings the total number of unaccounted-for students to 303, far higher than the initial figure released after terrorists stormed the school in the early hours of Friday, abducting both students and staff.
Many parents who rushed to the school to retrieve their children after news of the attack said they were unable to find them, heightening fears that more pupils were taken or fled into surrounding bushes during the chaos.
It had earlier reported that armed men invaded the school around 2am, shooting the security guard before forcing their way into the hostels and taking away scores of students and teachers.
In yesterday morning’s update, the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed that the number of missing children had risen sharply. Earlier on Friday, he had said that 215 students could not be accounted for, alongside four female and eight male teachers abducted during the raid.
According to the Bishop, St. Mary’s School has 430 pupils in its primary section and 199 students in secondary school.
Bishop Yohanna also denied claims by the Niger State Government that the school had ignored a security advisory directing boarding schools in the area to shut down due to intelligence about imminent threats.
Speaking through his aide, Daniel Atori, the Bishop said no such circular or verbal communication was ever delivered to the school or the Catholic Education Board. “We asked the Education Secretary if he received a circular. He said no. We asked if he was asked to send any to us; he said no. We asked if he was verbally informed, he also said no”, Yohanna said.
“Let them tell the world who they gave the circular to or through what channel they sent it”, he stated.
He added that the National Association of Private Schools also denied receiving any directive from the state government. “They claimed the school was shut down and reopened a few days ago. That is not true. We are law-abiding”, the Bishop stressed.
The Friday attack is the latest in a disturbing resurgence of mass kidnappings in Nigerian schools, coming just days after 25 schoolgirls were abducted in Maga, Kebbi State.
Security agencies have launched search-and-rescue operations, but the exact number of abducted students remains unclear as authorities and the church continue reconciliation of figures.
