Name: Parents desperate for news after students abducted in Nigeria
Uploaded: 2025-12-04T09:11:23.447Z
Duration: 2 min 55 s
Description: More than 300 school children abducted amid surge in armed attacks, bringing back memories of 2014 Chibok girls’ kidnapping.

More than 300 school children abducted amid surge in armed attacks, bringing back memories of 2014 Chibok girls’ kidnapping.

Niger

Over 300 students and staff were abducted from St. Mary's Catholic School in Niger, Nigeria, following a raid by armed bandits on November 21. Families remain desperate for information, as no group has claimed responsibility or made ransom demands, and the emotional toll has led to hospitalizations and deaths among parents.

The incident is part of a wider surge in violence across Nigeria, with analysts warning of a growing crisis as security forces are stretched thin. In response, authorities have closed all schools in the state, a move criticized for disrupting education for thousands of children.

Parents desperate for news after students abducted in Nigeria

This is the agony of a mother left without answers. Two of Monica Ishako's daughters are among the missing, and she says the silence is unbearable. We are robbed of peace. When we remember our kids, we don't eat, sleep, or do anything properly. We don't know whether they are dead or alive, whether they are eating or not. On November 21st, bandits raided St. Mary's Catholic School for nearly three hours without resistance. More than 300 students and staff were taken. Around 15 managed to escape, including 17-year-old Stephen Samuel. At Tsukumba, I fell from my bike. I wanted to run at first, but they were watching us closely. When there was a lapse of attention, I seized the opportunity and escaped. The abducted students come from villages bordering the Kainji National Park, a remote forest where armed groups are believed to operate and exploit porous borders with Niger and Benin Republic. Two weeks after the abduction, there is no claim of responsibility or a demand for ransom. Many Nigerians believe that this is similar to what happened in Chibok in 2014 when more than 270 schoolgirls were taken from a school in northeastern Nigeria. And they fear the longer this takes, the more likely that Chibok 2014 will repeat itself. Across Nigeria, violence has surged. In November alone, more than 500 people were kidnapped or killed by criminal gangs. Assigned analysts warn that the crisis is spiralling. When this whole thing started, we were probably talking of less than 5,000. Today we are talking of almost 30,000 members of these bandit groups. Nigerian security forces are stretched thin. They are deployed in active operations in almost every state, often performing duties traditionally handled by police. If there are 10 enemy forces occupying a ground, I should go with 30. That is attacker ratio to defender. That's what it teaches me. When you come to unconventional warfare, it is far more than that. Numbers he says Nigeria does not have. Parents gather daily at the school, desperate for news. Bulus Dutsi, whose children are missing, says the emotional toll is breaking families. A woman known as Esther and Anthony Musa died of trauma after the kidnap of their children. And we have many more parents in hospital because of this incident. The government has shut all schools in the state to prevent further abductions. A move critics warn ends victory to attackers by shutting down education for thousands of children. Ahamed Idris, Al Jazeera, Papiri, Central Nigeria.

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