Africa. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced that armed men kidnapped 215 students and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in northwestern Nigeria on Friday, marking the latest incident in a wave of attacks targeting schools that has forced the government to close 47 educational institutions.
The assault, which took place in Niger State, is the largest mass abduction of students since March 2024, when over 200 pupils were kidnapped in Kaduna State.
Reverend Paulos Dawa Yohanna, head of the state branch of CAN, said he had visited the school and confirmed that some students managed to escape, though he provided no further details.
Earlier on Friday, police and local government officials confirmed the abduction at St. Mary’s School, but did not specify the number of victims. Authorities said security forces were deployed to the scene and combed nearby forests in search of the hostages.
The Niger State government stated that the school had ignored prior instructions to suspend boarding classes following intelligence warnings of a potential attack.
Trump’s Threats and U.S. Pressure
Nigeria’s security situation has come under intense scrutiny after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened “swift military action” if the country failed to curb violence against Christians.
In the first high-level meeting between the U.S. and Nigeria since Trump’s warning, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote on X that he had met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser on Thursday to discuss “the persecution of Christians.”
Last week saw multiple abductions across the country: 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi State on Monday, and 38 worshippers were abducted from a church in Kwara State on Tuesday, with kidnappers reportedly demanding $69,000 ransom per hostage.
In response to the surge in violence, President Bola Tinubu canceled planned foreign trips to South Africa and Angola, where he was scheduled to attend the G20 and AU–EU summits, and dispatched a delegation led by his National Security Adviser to Washington for talks with U.S. lawmakers and officials.
Trump previously claimed on social media that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria from “radical Islamists,” warning he would “intervene with full force” to stop the killings. He also revealed that he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning potential military action.
The Nigerian government, however, has rejected these accusations, calling them false and misleading, asserting that Christians are not being persecuted, and that such claims distort Nigeria’s complex security landscape.
