The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has confirmed the abduction of 227 persons, including primary school pupils, secondary school students and teachers at the St. Mary's Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State.
The Niger State CAN Chairman who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora, Most Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, made this known in a statement issued through his media aide, Dan Atori, in Minna, the state capital.
The Catholic school, located in Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, was attacked in the early hours of Friday, November 21, as terrorists arrived on more than 60 motorcycles and a van, according to eyewitnesses, shooting sporadically into the air and injuring the security man at the school's gate, taking away several students and some staff members.
Speaking on the incident, the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alh. Abubakar Usman, had claimed that the school authority did not adhere to the directive of government to close down, leading to the kidnap of the students.
According to him, a warning had been issued weeks earlier, warning schools in Niger North of a credible threat of terrorist attack, and warning all boarding schools in the district to remain closed.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Government has ordered the closure of schools across the state, due to renewed wave of terrorist attacks against schools in the country.
According to the spokesman of the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Richard Jonah, who made the announcement, secondary schools across Plateau State are to shut down from Saturday, November 22, while primary schools are to close from Monday, November 24.
