abuja, nigeria
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Police in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state reported that a gang of armed robbers broke into a private Catholic school early Friday and abducted hundreds of children, amid widespread anger over violence against Christians in the West African country.
Although some students managed to escape to safety during the attack, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced that 215 students and 12 teachers were abducted in the attack.
Most, chairman of CAN’s Niger state chapter, said parents were arriving at schools to pick up their children ahead of the closure. Pastor Brus Dawwa Johanna said:
A spokeswoman for Johanna, who visited the school and met with the parents of the abducted children, said the association was working with government and security agencies to bring the children back safely.
The kidnapping in Niger, which borders Nigeria’s capital Abuja, followed a similar attack on a church by armed men in neighboring Kwara state earlier this week. At least two people were killed in the church attack and several members, including the pastor, were abducted.
Also this week, armed men attacked a public girls’ boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state and kidnapped 25 girls. Tragically, the school’s vice principal was shot and killed during the attack.
The Niger state government condemned the recent attack on St. Mary’s School, saying “the exact number of abducted students is yet to be ascertained.”
The Niger State Police Command issued a statement on Friday saying security forces had been deployed to the area and were conducting a “forest search” to rescue the abducted students.
Nigeria is currently facing an alarming wave of attacks by armed groups targeting vulnerable civilians and orchestrating mass abductions for ransom. The country is also plagued by religiously motivated attacks and other violent conflicts stemming from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as conflicts between farmers and pastoralists over limited access to land and water resources.
US President Donald Trump has frequently expressed anger over controversial allegations of a “genocide” of Christians by Islamic militants in Nigeria, and has threatened military action to protect the religious group.
Earlier this month, President Trump designated Nigeria as a “Country of Special Concern” under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act, indicating that the administration had determined that Nigeria engaged in or condoned “systematic and sustained (and) egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The latest series of attacks coincided with the arrival of a Nigerian delegation in Washington for consultations with U.S. government officials.
Pentagon officials confirmed Thursday’s meeting between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu. In addition, a State Department spokesperson said the Nigerian delegation will meet with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Friday.
