{"id":1796,"date":"2025-11-22T20:50:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T20:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=1796"},"modified":"2025-11-22T20:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T20:52:21","slug":"students-staff-feared-missing-after-terrorists-raid-on-niger-catholic-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=1796","title":{"rendered":"Students, staff feared missing after terrorists raid on Niger catholic school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Tension has gripped Niger State after terrorists launched a midnight assault on St. Mary\u2019s School, a Catholic institution in the Papiri Community of Agwara Local Government Area, abducting an unconfirmed number of students and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Details remain unclear, but&nbsp; according to Daily Trust, multiple sources said that several students were taken during the late-night raid, PUNCH Online had earlier reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Asake - Organise (Official Video)\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_u4_iWCvZ5c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fear and uncertainty now hang over the community as families await official updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A source from one of the Catholic churches in Niger State confirmed the incident, explaining that the school was still trying to determine the exact number of victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYes, it is true, but I am not in a position to give details. The church will issue an official statement later in the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When contacted, the Spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said he would provide details later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the Head of Department, Disaster and Relief, Agwara Local Government, Ahmed Abdullahi Rofia, confirmed the attack via telephone, revealing that the terrorists struck in the early hours of Friday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the \u201cattackers invaded the school between 2am and 3am, adding that the actual number of abducted students and staff had yet to be determined as authorities continue their assessments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arise TV in a separate report on Friday said 52 students were abducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The assault comes just days after&nbsp;a similar attack in Maga, Kebbi State, where 25 students were kidnapped, heightening nationwide concerns over worsening insecurity in schools across the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The crisis deepened further on Thursday when\u00a0over 50 schools were shut down\u00a0in four Kwara State\u00a0local government areas due to rampaging bandits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the situation escalates, President Bola Tinubu has&nbsp;cancelled his trips&nbsp;to South Africa and Angola to coordinate the national response to the deepening security challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the State Governor, Umar Bago, has also confirmed the incident via his official Facebook handle on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was detailed in a statement titled, \u201cNiger State Government Condemns Kidnapping of pupils in Papiri area in Agwara Local Government, Reiterates Earlier Security Directive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Niger State Government has received with deep sadness the disturbing news of the kidnapping of pupils from St. Mary\u2019s School in Agwara Local Government Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe exact number of abducted pupils is yet to be confirmed as security agencies continue to assess the situation,\u201d the&nbsp;release&nbsp;noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was e-signed by the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alh. Abubakar Usman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2021, PUNCH Online reported that\u00a0no fewer than 42 people, including 27 students, were kidnapped\u00a0when bandits attacked Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, in Niger State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has denounced the midnight attack on St. Mary\u2019s School, issuing a Friday statement through its Diocesan Secretary, Rev. Fr. Jatau Luka Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Diocese, the armed men stormed the school at midnight, shooting a security personnel and abducting several members of the school community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bishop assured the public that the Diocese is working closely with security agencies, community leaders, and government officials to ensure the safe return of all victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Appealing for calm, the\u00a0Diocese urged residents to support ongoing rescue efforts and called for collective prayers\u00a0for the swift recovery of those taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It further reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding children and said additional updates would be released as credible information emerges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMay the Lord grant quick release to those abducted and continue to protect His people from all danger,\u201d the statement read partly. <a href=\"https:\/\/punchng.com\/breaking-students-staff-feared-missing-after-terrorists-raid-on-niger-catholic-school\/\">(Punch)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tension has gripped Niger State after terrorists launched a midnight assault on St. Mary\u2019s School, a Catholic institution in the Papiri Community of Agwara Local Government Area, abducting an unconfirmed number of students and staff. Details remain unclear, but&nbsp; according to Daily Trust, multiple sources said that several students were taken during the late-night raid, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[2266,2269,2270,669,2261,2268,2262,2265,2264,2263,2267],"class_list":["post-1796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-agwara-local-government","tag-catholic-diocese-of-kontagora","tag-jatau-luka-joseph","tag-kwara-state","tag-niger-state","tag-papiri","tag-st-marys-school","tag-staff","tag-students","tag-terrorists","tag-umar-bago"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Students, staff feared missing after terrorists raid on Niger catholic school - Tona Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tension has gripped Niger State after terrorists launched a midnight assault on St. Mary\u2019s School, a Catholic institution in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=1796\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Students, staff feared missing after terrorists raid on Niger catholic school - 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