Gunmen kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers in an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Nigeria. Initial reports indicated that at least 52 children had been abducted before the number was increased to over 200 and then to the final count of 303.
Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said in a statement that the total number of abductees was determined “after a verification exercise and a final census were conducted,” according to The Associated Press. Yohanna is the Chairman of the Niger State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who visited the school on Friday. The AP noted that the kidnapped students were male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.
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In this photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walks past assets at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen kidnapped children and staff in the Papiri community in Nigeria on November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
According to the AP, no group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack. The newspaper added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.
After the attack, the state government said St. Mary’s School had reopened despite warnings of increased threats. However, Yohanna denied this claim, the AP reported.
“We have not received a circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he said, according to the AP.
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in the Papiri community in Nigeria on November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
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The attack on St. Mary’s follows a similar incident earlier this week, in which armed assailants kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi state and killed at least one staff member. The search for the kidnapped schoolgirls is still ongoing.
A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom at the Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, northern Nigeria, on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel/AFP via Getty Images)
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Nigeria has suffered a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of special interest.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the US claims.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria “genocide with the mask of chaos.” He was joined by rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom for all.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
