More than 300 children were abducted in an attack on a Catholic school in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria — A complete of 303 schoolchildren and 12 lecturers had been kidnapped by gunmen throughout an assault on St. Mary’s College, a Catholic establishment in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Affiliation of Nigeria stated Saturday, updating an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren.

The tally was modified “after a verification train and a last census was carried out,” based on an announcement issued by the Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger state chapter of CAN, who visited the varsity on Friday.

He stated 88 different college students “had been additionally captured after they tried to flee” through the assault. The scholars had been each female and male and ranged in age from 10 to 18.

The college kidnapping in Niger state’s distant Papiri group occurred 4 days after 25 schoolchildren had been seized in comparable circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state’s Maga city, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.

No group has but claimed duty for the abductions and authorities have stated tactical squads have been deployed alongside native hunters to rescue the kids.

Yohanna described as false a declare from the state authorities that the varsity had reopened for research regardless of an earlier directive for colleges in that a part of Niger state to shut briefly as a result of safety threats.

“We didn’t obtain any round. It have to be an afterthought and a technique to shift blame,” he stated, calling on households “to stay calm and prayerful.”

College kidnappings have come to outline insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, and armed gangs usually see colleges as “strategic” targets to attract extra consideration.

UNICEF stated final yr that solely 37% of colleges throughout 10 of the conflict-hit states have early warning programs to detect threats.

Niger state has now shut down all colleges as a measure to forestall different kidnappings. The choice was in a bid to guard lives and property, Niger Gov. Umar Bago informed reporters Saturday after assembly with safety officers in Minna.

“It’s the choice of stakeholders as we speak to shut all colleges in Niger state. All colleges are closed until additional discover. So we’ve declared Christmas vacation for all colleges in Niger state,” Bago stated.

The kidnappings are taking place amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of focused killings towards Christians within the West African nation. Assaults in Nigeria have an effect on each Christians and Muslims. The college assault earlier this week in Kebbi state was in a Muslim-majority city.

The assault additionally came about as Nigerian Nationwide Safety Adviser Nuhu Ribadu was visiting the U.S. the place he met Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.