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BREAKING: 50 Abducted Niger Pupils Escape From Captivity — CAN Confirms
By Saturday, the number of missing students had risen, with 88 more unaccounted for.
Minna, Niger State– Fifty pupils abducted from St. Mary’s Secondary and Primary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, have escaped from their captors, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The school was attacked in the early hours of Friday by heavily armed men who shot a security guard before whisking away more than 200 pupils and students, alongside 13 teaching and non-teaching staff.
Initial figures released by the school proprietor and Niger State CAN Chairman, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, indicated that 215 students and 12 staff members were abducted.
By Saturday, the number of missing students had risen, with 88 more unaccounted for.
However, in a statement issued on Sunday by his aide, Daniel Atori, Rev. Yohanna announced a major breakthrough, confirming that fifty of the abducted pupils escaped on Saturday and have since been reunited with their parents.
“This is to notify the public that as of Sunday, 23rd November 2025, we have received some good news as fifty (50) pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents.”
Rev. Yohanna explained that St. Mary’s operates both boarding and day schooling systems. The primary section alone has 430 pupils — 377 boarders and 53 day pupils.
The cleric noted: “Currently, aside from the 50 pupils that escaped and have returned home, we have 141 pupils who were not taken. As it stands now, 236 pupils, three children belonging to staff members, 14 secondary school students, and 12 staff members remain with the abductors.”
Security agencies, he said, are ramping up operations to locate and rescue the remaining victims, though no official confirmation has been issued by the police or military regarding the status of ongoing search efforts.
The mass abduction — one of the largest in the country this year — has triggered outrage and renewed calls for decisive action against bandit groups terrorising communities across Niger State and other parts of the North.