The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has released the names of hundreds of children and school workers still being held after last week’s mass abduction at St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
In a statement signed by Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who also serves as CAN Chairman and proprietor of the school, the diocese confirmed that 265 people remain in the hands of suspected bandits.
Shockingly, 239 of the captives are nursery and primary pupils aged between four and ten, making the attack one of the largest abductions of very young children in recent years. The list also includes 14 secondary school students, comprising ten junior students and four in senior secondary classes.
Among the abducted are 12 school employees, including five teachers and seven non-teaching staff. The teachers were identified as female staff members Mercy Yohanna and Justina Yakubu, alongside Bitrus Yohanna, Cyril Bagudu and Yohanna Daniel. The remaining school staff held captive are four women—Agnes Joseph, Anna Terry, Hannatu Bulus and Lydia Andrew—and three men: Terry Francis, Emmanuel Ibrahim and Godwin James.
Church authorities have appealed for urgent government intervention and international attention, expressing deep concern over the fate of the children, many of whom are barely old enough to read or write.
