Parents of the hundreds of children abducted last week from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State are sinking deeper into fear and heartbreak, as hope for their safe return fades with each passing day.
More than 300 pupils and teachers were seized when armed men stormed the school, in one of the largest mass kidnappings the country has witnessed in recent years. Although authorities confirmed that at least 50 children managed to escape, more than 265 remain in captivity, many of them barely old enough to speak.
For Michael Ibrahim, the agony is unimaginable. His four-year-old son—who also suffers from asthma—was among those taken. “My son is a small boy. He doesn’t even know how to talk,” he said quietly, his voice breaking. He added that the trauma of the attack left his wife so distressed she had to be taken to the hospital.
Other parents, equally overwhelmed, have gathered daily at the school grounds, clinging to photos, hope, and each other. “I need my child back. I need my child back. If I had the power to bring my child back, I would do it,” said Sunday Isaiku, another father whose young child is missing.
The abduction comes amid a devastating week of violence across the country. In the same week, 25 schoolgirls were taken from another school, while 38 worshippers were abducted from a church in eastern Nigeria. These incidents underscore a grim reality: mass kidnappings remain a persistent threat, particularly in rural areas where security is thin and criminal gangs operate with impunity.
Nigeria has grappled with the scourge of school abductions for more than a decade. The country’s first globally recognized mass kidnapping occurred in 2014, when 276 schoolgirls were seized from Chibok around 90 of them are still missing. Since then, kidnapping has evolved into a profitable enterprise for criminal groups seeking ransom, often targeting students who are more vulnerable and whose disappearance triggers widespread panic.
According to conflict-tracking organization ACLED, there have been 42 incidents of violence targeting students this year, compared with 71 in 2024. About 40% of these cases were linked to ransom demands.
The group notes that fragmented bandit gangs and other armed actors are responsible for most of these attacks, while extremist groups account for only a smaller fraction. The data illustrates how deeply entrenched and complex the kidnapping crisis has become, with perpetrators frequently acting in small, unpredictable clusters.
Eyewitness accounts from the St Mary’s raid paint a chilling picture. Health worker Cidi Mohamed, 27, recalled the crack of gunfire and the chaos as children were rounded up. “They put the children at the front and the back of motorcycles,” he said, describing how the assailants vanished into the surrounding bush with dozens of terrified pupils.
Four days after the abduction, no group has claimed responsibility, and no ransom demand has been issued leaving families in a torturous limbo. Reverend Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora Catholic Diocese made a desperate plea for unity and swift action. “What we want is to get our 265 students and pupils back,” he said. “Please help us… to see them back and reunite with their parents.”
For parents like Ibrahim, the government represents their last and only hope. “We don’t know any other way to bring these children in, other than through the government,” he said in Hausa, urging authorities to deploy every possible resource to bring the children home.
Meanwhile, all 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko-Wasagu area of Kebbi State have regained their freedom, bringing an end to a tense ordeal that gripped the community for days.
The confirmation came on Tuesday from Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy. In his statement, he revealed that security operatives successfully secured the girls’ release and received commendation from the President for their coordinated efforts.
President Tinubu, reacting to the development, expressed relief and emphasized the need for stronger security presence in areas vulnerable to attacks. “We now have all 24 girls safe. The next step is to strengthen protection in at-risk communities so such incidents do not happen again. My administration is committed to providing every necessary resource to achieve this,” the statement quoted him as saying.
The students were seized last Monday when armed bandits breached the school hostel, an incident that triggered widespread outrage and renewed conversations around the safety of schools particularly in the North-West, where banditry has become pervasive.
Parents, activists, and education advocates have since called for more proactive measures to safeguard learning environments, insisting that no child should fear attending school. While the rescue has brought relief, many insist it highlights the urgent need for sustained action to prevent further attacks on students across the region.