Armed men abduct children and staff at Catholic school in Nigeria, days after latest abduction

Armed men attacked a Catholic school in a western region of Nigeria and abducted several schoolchildren and staff early Friday, days after 25 schoolgirls were abducted in a neighbouring state, officials said.

The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Agwara local government’s Papiri community, said Abubakar Usman, the secretary to the Niger state government. He did not disclose the number of students and staff abducted.

Local media broadcaster Arise TV said 52 schoolchildren were abducted.

The Niger State Police Command said the abductions took place in the early hours of Friday and that military and security forces have since been deployed to the community.

The statement by the secretary to the Niger state government said the incident occurred despite prior intelligence warning of heightened threats.

“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” it read.

The abductions took place days after gunmen attacked a high school in Kebbi state in northwestern Nigeria before dawn on Monday, taking 25 schoolgirls and killing at least one staffer.

It was not immediately clear who was to blame for the abductions in Niger and Kebbi states.

Abductions have come to define the insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation and the painful consequences.

Kidnappers in the past have included the Boko Haram insurgency that carried out the mass abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls over a decade ago, bringing the extremist group to global attention. But groups of bandits are also active.