Mass kidnappings: Over 300 missing in Nigeria after armed raid on catholic school - what we know so far

Gunmen have abducted more than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic co-educational school in Niger state, in one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings, a Christian group said on Saturday.

The attackers stormed St Mary’s School early Friday, days after gunmen raided a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state and seized 25 girls, deepening security fears in Africa’s most populous nation.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which initially reported 227 people abducted, said the figure rose to 303 students and 12 teachers after a “verification exercise,” as cited by AFP.




The victims, boys and girls aged eight to 18, account for nearly half of St. Mary’s total enrolment of 629 students.

Bago, whose administration had already shut several schools, announced a statewide closure as efforts intensify to rescue the abducted students and teachers. Neighbouring states have also suspended classes as a precaution.

At the national level, the education ministry has ordered 47 boarding secondary schools across the country to close temporarily.

A week marked by escalating abductions

The attack capped a week of kidnappings across Nigeria that targeted both Christians and Muslims, with several incidents appearing to be financially motivated. On Monday, 25 Muslim schoolgirls were abducted during an armed assault on a school in Kebbi, where the vice principal was killed. Local media also reported that 64 people were seized from their homes in neighbouring Zamfara state, as cited by Time Magazine.

Churches also targeted

Earlier this week, a live stream captured a gunman attacking the Christ Apostolic Church in Oke Isegun, Kwara State, killing two people and abducting more than 30. A church official told Reuters the kidnappers had demanded “around $69,000 in ransom per person.” The latest attacks on Christian communities are expected to heighten pressure on the Nigerian government and could prompt the Trump Administration to consider more direct involvement.

The recent surge in kidnappings is driven by complex motives and not necessarily religious divisions, experts warn. A report released last year by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies noted a sharp rise in abductions by “criminal gangs,” known locally as “bandits.”

Why mass kidnappings are on the rise

The report also highlighted a shift toward large-scale abductions because they “increase the possibility of government ransom payments, which are more substantial than what can be cobbled together by individual ransoms.”

Schools also remain particularly vulnerable, as they often lack the security needed to prevent coordinated mass attacks.

Nigeria remains scarred by the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno state, more than a decade ago. Some victims are yet to return.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth urged Abuja to “take both urgent and enduring action to stop violence against Christians” during talks with Nigerian National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu, the Pentagon said Friday, as cited by AFP.