"253 students and 12 teachers still missing" Bishop urges government to rescue abducted Niger Catholic school children

Friday, November 28, 2025 - The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora, Bulus Yohanna, has reminded the federal government that 265 teachers and children kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Niger State, are still unaccounted for.

His reminder comes a week after gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked the school and abducted dozens of schoolchildren.

Yohanna made this known on Friday during an interview on ‘Sunrise Daily’, a programme on Channels Television

According to him, the figures comprise 12 teachers and 253 schoolchildren, adding that the diocese has forwarded the names of the hostages to the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago.

“We had 303 pupils and students missing and 12 teachers also not seen. We added that number to make it 315 that cannot be accounted for after taking the headcount.

“Those that escaped went back home to their villages. When we started having calls from those that reunited with their parents, we were able to get 50 out of the 315, including staff and teachers who could not be accounted for, we deducted that number so we now have 265 as of now, that is the number that is missing,” the cleric said.

He called on the Federal Government to deploy security operatives to secure schools in the North-Central state.

Yohanna, who also chairs the Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, said the abduction has become a source of worry for the parents of the kidnapped schoolgirls.

The Catholic bishop also revealed that two parents have died due to shock from the incident.

The cleric appealed to the federal and state government to come to the school’s aid by securing the students and teachers still held in captivity by the gunmen.

Recall that during the attack the gunmen whisked away over 300 children in a resurgence of mass kidnappings that have long harrowed Nigeria.

However, 50 reportedly escaped and have been reunited with their families.