Gunmen abduct students, teachers in a catholic boarding school

Terrorists have attacked St Mary’s School, a Catholic-owned institution in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted an unconfirmed number of students and staff.

The attack took place in the early hours of Friday.
Local officials confirmed that the school was compiling its records and could not yet determine the number of people taken.

A source in one of the Catholic churches in Niger State confirmed the incident, stating that the church would issue an official statement after completing its investigation.

The Head of Department for Disaster and Relief in Agwara Local Government, Ahmed Rofia, also confirmed the attack with Daily Trust by telephone.

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He said the gunmen invaded the school between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and that authorities were still assessing the scale of the abductions.

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, for confirmation.

He said he was aware of the enquiry and would provide details when available. “I know what you are calling. I will get the details and get back to you,” he said. When pressed to confirm the incident, he added, “I need to get the details before. I will get back to you. Just give me time.”

Papiri is about 7 kilometres from Babana, where Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, announced its presence in July.

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The abduction happened less than a week after a similar abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State.

Papiri town is one of the 10 political wards in the Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.

A source in Rofia, a town 30 kilometres away from where the incident happened, also confirmed the incident.