{"id":2996,"date":"2025-11-22T12:06:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2996"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:06:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:06:39","slug":"over-300-students-were-abducted-by-nigerian-gunmen-from-catholic-school-armed-groups-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2996","title":{"rendered":"Over 300 students were abducted by Nigerian gunmen from Catholic school | Armed Groups News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>No group has yet claimed responsibility for this or a previous abduction, as authorities deploy tactical squads alongside local hunters to rescue the children.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 22 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">22 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers have been abducted by gunmen during Friday\u2019s attack on St Mary\u2019s Catholic School in north-central Nigeria\u2019s Niger State, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has said, as security fears accelerate in Africa\u2019s most populous nation.<\/p>\n<p>The update from an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren was announced on Saturday and was changed \u201cafter a verification exercise and a final census was carried out\u201d, according to a statement issued by the Most Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger State chapter of CAN, who visited the school on Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The attack comes just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in northwestern Nigeria, abducting 25 schoolgirls in similar circumstances in neighbouring Kebbi State\u2019s Maga town, which is 170km (106 miles) away, early on Monday morning. One girl later escaped, and 24 are still missing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4115276\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4115276\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4115276\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25321718390326-1763481044.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Police officers stand guard outside the school where children were kidnapped by gunmen in Kebbi, Nigeria\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4115276\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police officers stand guard outside the school where children were kidnapped by gunmen in Kebbi, Nigeria, on Monday, November 17, 2025 [Deeni Jibo\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>No group has yet claimed responsibility for the two abductions, and authorities have said tactical squads have been deployed alongside local hunters to rescue the children.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"957\" data-end=\"1330\">St Mary\u2019s is classified as a secondary school, but satellite images show the compound linked to an adjacent primary school with more than 50 buildings, including classrooms and dormitories. The complex lies in Papiri town, close to a major road connecting the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1332\" data-end=\"1794\">Residents described scenes of panic as families searched for their missing children.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1332\" data-end=\"1794\">Dauda Chekula, 62, said four of his grandchildren, aged seven to 10, were taken.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1332\" data-end=\"1794\">\u201cWe don\u2019t know what is happening now, because we have not heard anything since this morning,\u201d he told The Associated Press news agency. \u201cThe children who were able to escape have scattered \u2026 and the only information we are getting is that the attackers are still moving with the remaining children into the bush.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1796\" data-end=\"2115\">A statement from the secretary to the Niger State government on Friday said that authorities had earlier received intelligence warning of increased threats in the area. It said the school reopened \u201cwithout notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk\u201d.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2301\" data-end=\"2492\">President Bola Tinubu cancelled his planned trip to the G20 summit in South Africa following the abductions. Vice President Kashim Shettima will attend in his place, the presidency said on X.<\/p>\n<p>The school kidnappings and an attack on a church earlier this week come weeks after United States President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as targeted killings of Nigeria\u2019s Christians, a narrative rejected by the Nigerian government, which says Muslims are the majority victims of attacks by armed groups.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s assertions echo claims that have gained traction among right-wing and Christian evangelical circles in recent months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No group has yet claimed responsibility for this or a previous abduction, as authorities deploy tactical squads alongside local hunters to rescue the children. Published On 22 Nov 202522 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers have been abducted by gunmen during Friday\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}