The gunmen stormed St. Mary’s School in the Papiri community of Niger State in the early hours of 21 November 2025, abducting students aged from age10 to 18 years old, along with a dozen staff members.  School authorities and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirm 50 fled their captors on Friday and Saturday, returning to their homes. 

Bishop Bulus Yohanna, the school’s proprietor and CAN chair in Niger State, described relief at the escapees but urged prayers for the remaining hostages. Parents raced to the school when news of the escapees spread, in hopes of reuniting with their children. Authorities say around 253 pupils and 12 teachers are still held captive. 

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has ordered an acceleration of security measures, including recruiting 30,000 additional police officers and redirecting authorised personnel from VIP duties to protect vulnerable communities as part of the government's effort to safeguard its people following a sharp rise in school abductions across northern Nigeria. Several northern states have temporarily closed schools while army-led forces hunt for the kidnappers. International voices, including the pope, have publicly appealed for the hostages’ release. 

The Papiri abduction follows an eerily similar attack days earlier in neighbouring Kebbi State, where armed men seized dozens of girls, a pattern that aid groups and children’s charities warn has become alarmingly common. UNICEF and groups such as Save the Children have called the wave of kidnappings “an assault on education,” urging ample, coordinated action to protect schools and prosecute offenders. 

The kidnapping of over 300 people including children and adults, now surpasses the infamous 2014 Chibok mass abduction which involved the capture of 276 girls by militant group Boko Haram. Friday's incident highlights how school raids have grown into an undeniable national security crisis that repeatedly shatters families and disrupts learning. The decade long shadow of Chibok still shapes public outrage and the international response to each new kidnapping. 

For parents and families of the remaining captives the solution is simple; the safe return of their loved ones. For Nigeria as a whole this incident is yet another reminder that the country needs a deep reform of security systems and school safeguarding, so they are no longer hunting grounds for ransom-seeking gangs.