A body of Nigeria Christians, under aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has confirmed that no fewer than 227 students of a Catholic school, St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, were abducted by gunmen who invaded the school during midnight of Friday.
CAN also disclosed that 12 teachers were part of those that were kidnaped from the school premises by the gunmen who were said to had carried out the operation while the children were sleeping.
However, before the CAN confirmation, there has been controversy on the numbers of students and teacher that were kidnapped from the school as there was no official statement from both the government or security agencies on the number of those missing from the school.
Although, both the state government and police confirmed the incident and condemned action of the gunmen for abducting innocent children and helpless teachers, a statement by the Christian released on Friday after the incident, CAN stated that the government and security agencies are working in hand to secure the safe release of the abductees.
CAN chairman and the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, who confirmed the figure through a statement issued through his media aide, Dan Atori, explained that some students escaped during the attack, and parents have begun collecting their children, adding that the school has currently been shut down.
Yohanna further appealed to residents to remain calm and continue to offer prayers, assuring them that security agencies are already intensifying efforts and coordinating operations to trace the perpetrators and rescue the victims.
Earlier, the spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, stated that investigations into the attack are currently ongoing, with security operatives working to gather accurate information and track the perpetrators as more details continue to emerge.
