In a harrowing incident, armed assailants have kidnapped 303 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Nigeria. Early reports initially counted 52 abducted individuals, but that number has been updated to a staggering 303 as authorities conducted thorough verifications.
Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, speaking on behalf of the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the revised figures following a detailed verification process. Yohanna, who visited the school to assess the situation, noted that the abducted children, both boys and girls, are aged between 10 and 18 years, as reported by The Associated Press.
Images released by the Christian Association of Nigeria depict a man walking through the abandoned belongings at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School, the scene of the abduction in the Papiri community on November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, with no group stepping forward to claim responsibility for this brazen attack. Authorities have stated that tactical response teams, alongside local hunters, are actively working to secure the safe release of the kidnapped children, according to reports from the AP.
The state government announced that St. Mary’s School has resumed operations despite ongoing threats, a move that Most Rev. Yohanna refutes. He told the AP, “We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame.”
“We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he said, according to the AP.
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
The attack at St. Mary’s follows a similar incident earlier this week in which armed attackers kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. The search for the abducted schoolgirls is still underway.
A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom in Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, in northern Nigeria on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel / AFP via Getty Images)
Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S.’s claims.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria “genocide wearing the mask of chaos.” He was joined by rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom for all.
