Abuja [Nigeria], November 23: A series of recent attacks and kidnappings at Christian schools in Nigeria has prompted the United States to issue a warning.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced yesterday that gunmen attacked St. Mary's Primary and Secondary School, a Catholic boarding school in Niger State (northwestern Nigeria) on November 21, kidnapping more than 300 students and 12 teachers, according to AP. This is considered the largest kidnapping since March 2024. Pastor Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, Chairman of CAN in Niger State, who visited the scene, said some students had escaped but did not have a specific number.
Niger State Police and local authorities also confirmed the attack but have not yet released the exact number of victims. Notably, Niger State authorities revealed that St. Mary's School had not complied with the state's previous order to close the boarding school, due to intelligence information indicating a high risk of attack. Security forces are currently searching nearby forests to rescue the hostages.
This is just one of a series of attacks on schools and religious institutions in Nigeria this week. On November 17, 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi state. On the same day, 38 Christians were kidnapped from a church in Kwara state. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 100 million naira (about 1.8 billion VND) for each hostage.
The series of attacks and kidnappings forced Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to cancel two important trips to South Africa (to attend the G20 summit) and Angola (African Union - European Union summit) to focus on dealing with the crisis.
Nigeria is under intense international pressure over its security situation, particularly for its Christian community. US President Donald Trump has threatened to take "swift military action" if Nigeria fails to stop the violence against Christians. Just a day before the mass kidnapping in Niger state, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to discuss the issue. The Pentagon said Mr Hegseth had called on Nigeria to take urgent and lasting measures to stop the violence against Christians, according to AFP.
Nigeria has insisted that allegations of systematic persecution of Christians are untrue. Analysts say Christians are among the targeted communities, but the majority of victims are Muslims in northern Nigeria, where most of the attacks take place. With Islamist militants and criminal gangs still active in northern and central Nigeria, the Abuja government has been forced to close 47 federal boarding schools to protect students.
Source: Thanh Nieu Newspaper
