Gunmen abducted 303 students aged 10-18 and 12 teachers from St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, on November 21, 2025, in one of Nigeria's worst mass kidnappings, evoking memories of the 2014 Chibok incident. The attackers stormed the dormitories around 2:00 a.m. on motorbikes, herding victims onto trucks over three hours while unarmed guards fled; no group has claimed responsibility, though banditry plagues the Kainji Lake region near Mokwa-Yelwa road.
Fifty students escaped captivity by November 23 and reunited with families, but approximately 265 remain held, prompting indefinite closure of all Niger State schools and many in neighboring areas. Parents protested in desperation, fearing reprisals if they speak out, as security forces including police tactical units, military, and local hunters comb forests without confirmed rescues.
In religiously mixed central Nigeria, the attack has ignited raw anger, prayers from Christian leaders like CAN's Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, and criticism of government failures amid five school kidnappings since President Tinubu's 2023 inauguration. This follows a similar abduction of 25 children in nearby Kebbi State, highlighting surging armed group violence targeting vulnerable educational sites.