Parents of the pupils abducted from St. Mary Catholic Schools in Papiri, Agwarra LGA of Niger State, turned out in large numbers on Saturday to express frustration over what they described as government abandonment more than a week after the mass kidnapping
Over 200 parents assembled at the school, writing down their names and those of their missing children during a documentation exercise initiated by state officials. Many had travelled long distances, with some arriving on motorcycles after hours on the road.
The school was attacked on 21 November, when armed men seized more than 300 pupils and 12 teachers. The raid came shortly after another kidnapping incident in which 26 schoolgirls were taken in a different part of Niger State. Although around 50 students reportedly escaped two days after they were taken, most victims remain with the attackers.
Despite repeated assurances from both state and federal authorities that special security teams had been deployed, the protesting parents insisted that no representative of the Niger State Government had reached out to them since the attack. While holding placards with messages such as “Bring Back Our Girls,” “Is Education a Crime?” and “Our Children Are Still in Captivity,” the parents accused the government of failing to act urgently.
Stephen Okafor, Director of Communication for the school, said the registration exercise was ordered by the state government. He added that the large crowd should “put to rest negative speculations” surrounding the abduction. Another cleric, Linus Arege, explained that at least 215 parents and guardians had already been documented, noting that officials from Agwarra Local Government and the Catholic Diocese were on ground to supervise the process.
Some parents recounted their distress. Joseph Dimas, whose son Julius, a JSS 2 student, is still missing, condemned the government for initially denying that the schoolchildren were abducted. Emmanuel Ejeh, another parent, said he never imagined such an attack could happen, pointing out that his two older children had graduated from the same school without any incident.
Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora Diocese, who oversees the school, expressed hope that the abducted students and staff would eventually be rescued. He appealed for prayers, explaining that bringing together parents from more than 50 affected communities had been a difficult undertaking. School principal Felicia Gyam dismissed claims that the school had prior warnings, insisting that “there was no such notification” and challenging anyone making the allegation to produce evidence. Headmistress Blessing Amodu said the crisis had taken a heavy emotional toll on staff and families, urging authorities to intensify rescue efforts.
Attempts to get an official response from the Niger State Government were unsuccessful. Messages sent to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Bologi Ibrahim, had not been acknowledged as of the time of filing this report.
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