For about 30 days, 130 students and staff of St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State, lived away from home, family and classrooms after Boko Haram terrorists stormed their school in the early hours of 21 November. The students ranged in age from 6 to 18.
The abduction, one of the largest school kidnappings in recent months, unsettled the authorities and kept security forces on their feet. It revealed a dire security failure in the North-central state, where two jihadi groups have tightened their grip on local communities surrounding the Kainji Lake National Park.
Day 1: The abduction (21 November)
The terrorists under the command of Mallam Sadiku attacked the Catholic boarding school before dawn, rounding up 315 people, including students and staff from their dormitories. While about 50 people escaped, 265 were taken away, according to school officials.
A PREMIUM TIMES and The New Humanitarian investigation revealed how the terrorists moved the students through seven villages for two days, before disappearing into the Kainji forest reserve, where they split the captives.
By morning, the scale of the attack had become clear. Parents, church leaders and local authorities converged in Papiri, as school officials declared 315 people abducted. Subsequently, the school stated that 50 people returned to the community, declaring that 265 had been abducted.
The state authorities had tried to politicise the abduction and blame the school for it. The state governor, Mohammed Bago, stated that the school disregarded the security warning to shut down and avoid an impending attack.
But the school authorities countered his claims.
Days 2–13: Silence and anxiety
For nearly two weeks, there was little public information on the captives’ whereabouts. Families waited anxiously as negotiations and security operations reportedly took place behind the scenes.
One of the parents, Anthony Musa, died three days after the abduction. Although he had sustained injuries from a motorcycle accident, his aged mother, Hannatu, believes her son died of pain and grief.
During this period, conflicting figures continue to emerge from officials, the school management and religious groups, creating confusion over the exact number of those abducted.
Day 14: First breakthrough (7 December)
Fourteen days after the abduction, the Nigerian government secured the release of 100 captives. They were escorted by military personnel and formally handed over to the Niger State government the following day.
A list released at the time showed that 99 were students, while one was a staff member. This offered the first concrete sign of progress and hope to families still waiting.
Days 15–29: Uncertainty over those left behind
After the initial release, attention shifted to the fate of those still in captivity. The school management and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that 165 people were still being held.
But the more the government made efforts to release the remaining captives, the more tension grew among parents and school management.
One of the parents whose children were abducted that night told PREMIUM TIMES that there was “confusion” about the figures of the remaining captives.
The school invited the parents twice—the first time, only those whose children were still in the forest.
“The school told us that the government disagreed with the list they had provided,” one parent, who asked not to be named, said. “We were then asked to register our names and the names of our children.”
The second invitation had both parents whose children had been released and those still waiting. The school did another head count and asked them to go home.
While this went on, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, met with school authorities and assured them that the remaining captives would be freed before Christmas.
Day 30: The final release
On 22 December, about one month after the abduction, another 130 students and staff were released at a location near Nigeria’s border with the Benin Republic.
They were transported through Wawa, Mokwa and Bida en route to Minna, from where they are expected to be reunited with their families.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, announced that no victim remained in captivity. Niger State police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun also confirmed the release, saying further details would be communicated.
The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, which owns the school, confirmed the latest release in a statement dated 21 December, and signed by its secretary, Jatau Joseph. It did not disclose the number of captives released.
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But after a final reconciliation and verification exercise, the school proprietor, Bulus Yohanna, confirmed that 230 pupils and staff members were abducted, contrary to the 265 mentioned earlier. He said all the captives were now free.
Mr Yohanna, who doubles as the bishop of Kontagora, explained that the abducted persons comprised 12 staff members, 14 secondary school students, and 204 nursery and primary pupils.
He, however, noted that the discrepancies were neither deliberate nor misleading.
Meanwhile, authorities have not officially named the abductors. The conditions under which the captives were released have also not been disclosed, amidst allegations of prisoner exchanges and ransom payments. In response to these concerns, President Bola Tinubu said, “The rhetoric on how the children were released or what happened to the kidnappers is secondary; the end justifies the means.”
A broader crisis
The Papiri abduction is the latest reminder of Nigeria’s enduring school safety crisis. A decade after the Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped, mass abductions have spread across northern Nigeria.
While some of the Chibok girls (now women) have regained freedom, more than 80 are still unaccounted for.
According to media reports, there have been at least 10 mass abductions, targeting more than 1,700 students in formal and tsangaya [Islamiya] schools since the Chibok abduction.
For the students of St Mary’s, the 30 days in captivity may be over, but the memories remain fresh with them and their families.
