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SAD! Niger Abduction: 265 Teachers, Students Still Unaccounted For — Catholic Bishop
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More than one week after gunmen kidnapped dozens of schoolchildren from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Niger State, 265 teachers and children are still unaccounted for.
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora, Bulus Yohanna, stated this on Friday during an interview on Channels.
Bishop Yohanna said the figures comprise 12 teachers and 253 schoolchildren, adding that the diocese has forwarded the names of the hostages to the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago.
“We had 303 pupils and students missing and 12 teachers also not seen. We added that number to make it 315 that cannot be accounted for after taking the headcount,” the cleric said.
“Those that escaped went back home to their villages. When we started having calls of those that reunited with their parents, we were able to get 50 out of the 315, including staff and teachers who could not be accounted for, we deducted that number so we now have 265 as of now, that is the number that is missing.”
Bishop Yohanna says St. Mary’s School never received any prior warning of an impending attack and insists there would be no reason for the school to have received such ‘instruction and not obey it.
Yohanna, who also chairs the Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), asked the Federal Government to deploy security operatives to secure schools in the North-Central state.
According to him, contrary to claims, the school never got intel before the abduction.
A general view of a classroom at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwarra local government, Niger state, on November 23, 2025.
The Catholic bishop said the abduction has become a source of worry for the parents of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
According to him, two parents have died due to shock from the incident.
The cleric appealed to the federal and state government to come to the school’s aid by securing the students and teachers still held in captivity by the gunmen.
The gunmen seized more than 300 children from the Catholic-owned institution, in a resurgence of the mass kidnappings that have long harrowed Nigeria.
The same week, 25 schoolgirls were taken from another school, and 38 worshippers were seized from a church in Kebbi and Kwara States, forcing President Bola Tinubu to order security as a national emergency.
The Niger attack is the latest in a series of abductions involving schoolchildren.
At least 50 taken from the Catholic school, St Mary’s, managed to escape, but many more children and teachers are still being held. Some of the children abducted are nursery-school age.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators, vowing to ensure the rescue of the missing students and other persons still in captivity across the country.
Opposition figures have accused the Nigerian government of failure to secure citizens with some even calling for Tinubu’s resignation in the wake of the deadly attacks across Africa’s most populous nation.
Nigeria has a history of mass kidnappings, mostly carried out by criminal gangs looking for ransom payments and targeting vulnerable populations in poorly policed rural areas.
Many of the captives get freed or rescued within weeks or months, while some escape on their own.
The first high-profile mass kidnapping was that of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, when Boko Haram terrorists forced 276 girls from their dormitories in the country’s northeast.
More than a decade later, about 90 of those girls are still missing. Nigeria suffers from a persistent security crisis fuelled by violence from “bandit” gangs that raid villages, kill people and kidnap for ransom.
US President Donald Trump earlier this month threatened military action over what he described as the targeted killing of Christians, a claim the Federal Government rejects.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has slashed its fuel pump price for the second time within four days.
A market survey on Saturday by DAILY POST showed that NNPCL retail outlets around Airport Junction and Wuse Zone 6 (Berger) in Abuja have reduced their petrol price to N1210 per litre, down from N1260.
This means that the state-owned oil firm slashed the petrol price by N50 per litre.
This comes barely two days after Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N50 to N1,125 per litre.
Recall that four days ago, NNPCL had adjusted its fuel price pump by N75 per litre to N1260.
With the latest drop by NNPCL retail outlets, petrol prices stand between N1210 per litre and N1305 per litre in Abuja and its environs.
The reduction in domestic fuel comes amid falling crude oil prices, which stand at $69 per barrel and $71 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, respectively, following the easing of the conflict in the Middle East.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu has kept mum amid the clamour by Nigerians for a commensurate drop in domestic fuel pump prices due to the significant reduction in crude oil prices.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it is yet to receive the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the Federal High Court judgment that set aside an earlier order directing it to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.
INEC revealed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
According to the commission, although it is aware of media reports on the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on June 26, it cannot comment on the ruling until it obtains and reviews the certified copy.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the court’s order,” the statement said.
INEC stated that its legal department would study the judgment upon receipt of the CTC before advising the commission on the next course of action.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter,” Oketola added.
Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja had on Friday set aside the court’s December 10, 2025, judgment directing INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The court held that the rights of the Peace Movement Party were affected by the earlier judgment because it was not joined in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in securing the registration order.
Justice Dashen consequently ordered that all parties be restored to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and directed that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties joined.
The NDC has rejected the ruling and announced plans to appeal the decision. Its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, maintained that the party had not been deregistered and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The ruling has also attracted reactions from opposition figures, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson, and other stakeholders, who described the decision as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and vowed to challenge it through all available legal channels.
INEC, however, maintained that it would reserve its position on the judgment until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy.
A joint police operation rescued five victims abducted near Ogbere Forest in Ogun state on Wednesday.
They were rescued within 25 hours by the Lagos and Ogun Police Commands, which were part of a joint operation codenamed KOSAYE, meaning “No Space” in Yoruba.
The woman was among the victims who were shot in the incident. Her daughter and sister were among those rescued by the police on Thursday.
NNPC slashes petrol price twice within four days
Lokoja Court order: INEC speaks on NDC, says it’s yet to receive CTC
Just in: Police rescue five abductees in Ogun
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