By Prosper Mene
Armed bandits stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School, a boarding school in Papiri town, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, in the early hours of Friday morning.
The attack started around 5:00 a.m. when the gunmen arrived on several motorcycles. They fired shots into the air to scare everyone and quickly entered the girls’ hostel. Students and teachers who were still sleeping were forced outside at gunpoint.
According to an eyewitness who spoke anonymously for security reasons, the bandits spent almost two hours inside the school, beating doors open and gathering the girls. They took away many schoolgirls (mostly aged 12–16) and at least 12 teachers. The exact number of abducted students is not yet confirmed, but some reports say more than 50 children were taken.
The kidnappers tried to move fast. They stole a private car near the school and forced several girls into it while others were put on the motorcycles.
Just a few metres from the school gate, the stolen car suddenly stopped. Witnesses said the engine made a loud noise and died completely. The bandits became angry and started shouting at each other in Hausa language. Some tried to push the car, but it would not start.
In that moment of confusion, several schoolgirls saw their chance. They opened the car doors, jumped out, and ran into the nearby bush. Others who were near the broken-down vehicle also scattered and hid.
One of the girls who escaped is 14-year-old Eze Gloria Chidinma. According to her sister, Gloria jumped over the school fence during the chaos and ran to a teacher’s house close by, where she hid until it was safe.
Because the car broke down, at least five to seven girls managed to escape. The rest were taken deeper into the forest by the bandits on motorcycles.
This incident adds to the current surge of school attacks in Nigeria this week. On Monday, 25 girls were kidnapped from a school in Kebbi State; two of them later escaped.
The Niger State government said they had ordered all boarding schools in risky areas to close temporarily because of security warnings, but St. Mary’s had reopened without full permission.
Security forces, local hunters, and vigilantes are now searching the forests around Papiri for the missing students and teachers. No ransom demand has been received yet.
Parents have gathered at the school gate, crying and praying for the safe return of their children.
We continue to hope and pray that the remaining girls and their teachers will be found and brought home safely very soon.
