"Gunmen force their way into the St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Agwara in central Niger state on November 21, their gunfire ripping through the silence in the dormitories where pupils were still asleep. They then led the students a total of 303 and 12 teachers away. It was the second mass abduction in Nigeria in less than a week. Four days earlier, about 25 girls were taken at gunpoint from a school in neighboring Kebbi state."
"The mass abductions came after a warning by US President Donald Trump of military action against Nigeria over the alleged persecution of Christians in the country. Nigeria has dismissed the claim, but it is facing multiple overlapping insecurity crises across its central and northern regions, with terrorists laying siege to communities, and carrying out mass abductions and kidnappings for ransom."
"According to the Lagos-based SB Morgen consulting firm, Between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 2.57billion naira ($1.7 million, 1.5 million) was paid to kidnappers between July 2024 and June 2025. Schools are particularly soft targets. In the last 10 years, criminal gangs and Islamist militants have abducted no fewer than 1,880 pupils across Nigeria. Many were released but some were killed."
Gunmen abducted 303 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Agwara on November 21, following an earlier abduction of about 25 girls in Kebbi state. The incidents occurred amid overlapping insecurity crises across central and northern Nigeria, with terrorists and criminal gangs laying siege to communities and targeting schools. Between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 2.57 billion naira was paid to kidnappers. At least 1,880 pupils have been abducted in the past decade, and the 2014 Chibok kidnapping still leaves nearly 300 girls missing. A Safe School Initiative costing about $30 million has not stopped mass abductions.
Read at www.dw.com
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