Fresh details have surfaced on the mass abduction of pupils and 12 teachers from St Mary’s Private Catholic School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
Officials of AIT.live quoted the school’s Principal, Felicia Gyang, and Head Teacher, Blessing Amupitan, saying they heard a helicopter during the attack, while vehicles and motorcycles were used to take the children out of the school unhindered.
The teachers who quoted what some of the attackers said stated, “They should abduct the children so that they can have money.”
According to AIT.live, no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, and no ransom demand has yet been communicated for the release of the pupils and staff.
Meanwhile, parents and relatives of the 239 abducted pupils and 12 teachers staged a protest at the school premises, appealing to the government to facilitate their safe release.
Some parents who lost multiple children in the attack were too distraught to speak in detail. Thirty-five-year-old Samson Najajah, whose 15-year-old son was abducted, recounted his own experience as a kidnap victim in 2021.
“The terrorists refused Naira as ransom but demanded Cefa currency,” he told Daily Post, adding that he could only imagine what the children were going through.
A teacher, Martha Mathias, also shared how her five-year-old daughter inadvertently saved her from being abducted, while her husband was taken along with the students.
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and proprietor of the school, Most Reverend Bulus Yohanna, expressed optimism that the abducted children and teachers would be rescued safely.
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