Fear and frustration grew in the remote community of Papiri as families searched for answers after more than 300 schoolchildren were taken by armed men, yet many parents say officials have offered them nothing.
Some families told The Associated Press that the strain has become overwhelming, with one parent dying of a heart attack since the abduction.
Emmanuel Ejeh, whose 12-year-old son was among those seized from the Catholic school in Niger state, said parents have been left without official updates. “Nobody from the government has briefed us about the abduction,” he said. His wife fainted after hearing that their son was missing, and he described the boy as someone who “dreams of becoming a football player” and spends his days chasing that ambition.
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Authorities say 303 children were taken during Friday’s attack. Fifty managed to escape, but no armed group has claimed responsibility. The kidnapping adds to another major incident in Nigeria’s recurring wave of school abductions, often carried out by gangs or militants seeking ransom. Such attacks had declined recently but have surged again.
The rise in mass kidnappings comes as the Trump administration presses Nigeria over the alleged persecution of Christians. Nigeria denies the allegation, and experts indicate that Muslims frequently face the same level of danger from bandits and militants linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.
Parents have remained at the dusty school compound, consoling each other as they wait for news. The bishop of the Kontagora diocese, Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who oversees the school, said two parents of abducted children have died, including one from a heart attack.
Nigeria’s presidency did not directly address parents’ complaints. A spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, told the AP that the military is putting pressure on the kidnappers to free the children. Helicopters and ground troops have been deployed, and soldiers have been seen moving among frightened families.
This kidnapping followed another attack days earlier in nearby Kebbi state in which twenty-five students were abducted. All were later rescued, and authorities said the children were reunited with their families on Wednesday.
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Since Boko Haram’s 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, an AP tally shows at least 1,799 students have been taken in a dozen major school attacks. Some escape, some are rescued, and others never return.
President Bola Tinubu announced on Wednesday that he has declared a national security emergency. He posted a statement on X saying, “The police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total to 50,000,” and described the situation as a crisis requiring more personnel in vulnerable areas.
Among the kidnapped teachers was Mercy, the daughter of church pastor Yohanna Yakubu. He rushed to the school after hearing the news and found her dormitory window shattered. “I went straight to her room (at the dormitory) and saw that the window was broken,” he said. Yakubu described the silence from authorities as deeply frustrating.
Danteni Mathew, whose three children were abducted, said one managed to escape. He now worries about the health of his youngest. “Yahaya was not healthy before his abduction from the school as he is still battling with hepatitis C,” he said.
Following the global outcry after Chibok, Nigeria launched a Safe School Initiative intended to improve security with military support and trained staff. It remains unclear whether the school in Papiri had received those resources. Many activists argue that little has changed. UNICEF disclosed last year that only 37 percent of schools in ten northern states have early-warning systems for detecting threats.
Aisha Yesufu, co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, said, “The fact is that Nigerian lives do not matter to the Nigerian government, and what matters to the Nigerian government is how good they look, so they are more focused on propaganda.”
Analysts say criminal gangs often target schools because the kidnappings prompt pressure on the government to negotiate. Nigeria continues to confront numerous armed groups across remote regions where state presence is limited.
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James Barnett of the Hudson Institute said the crisis has grown more complicated as groups from elsewhere in the Sahel join Boko Haram factions in seeking influence in northern Nigeria. “Both bandits and jihadists can have similar interests in conducting these sorts of mass abductions,” he stated.
