Parents of the pupils abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwarra LGA of Niger State, turned out in large numbers on Saturday to express frustration and anger over what they described as government abandonment, more than a week after the mass kidnapping.
Over 200 parents assembled at the school, initiating a documentation exercise where they wrote down their names and those of their missing children under the supervision of state officials. Many had travelled long distances, arriving on motorcycles after hours on the road.
Details of the Abduction and Protest
The school was attacked on November 21, when armed bandits seized more than 300 pupils and 12 teachers. The raid came shortly after another kidnapping incident in which 26 schoolgirls were taken in a different part of Niger State. Although around 50 students reportedly escaped two days after they were taken, most victims remain with the attackers.
Despite repeated assurances from both state and federal authorities that special security teams had been deployed, the protesting parents insisted that no representative of the Niger State Government had reached out to them since the attack.
The parents held placards with messages such as:
- “Bring Back Our Girls”
- “Is Education a Crime?”
- “Our Children Are Still in Captivity”
Family Distress and Official Documentation
Stephen Okafor, Director of Communication for the school, said the registration exercise was ordered by the state government, noting that the large crowd should “put to rest negative speculations” surrounding the abduction. Another cleric, Linus Arege, explained that at least 215 parents and guardians had already been documented, confirming that officials from Agwarra Local Government and the Catholic Diocese were on ground to supervise the process.
Some parents recounted their distress and condemned the government’s initial handling of the crisis. Joseph Dimas, whose son Julius, a JSS 2 student, is still missing, condemned the government for initially denying that the schoolchildren were abducted. Emmanuel Ejeh, another parent, said he never imagined such an attack could happen, pointing out that his two older children had graduated from the same school without any incident.
- Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora Diocese, who oversees the school, appealed for prayers, explaining that bringing together parents from more than 50 affected communities had been a difficult undertaking.
- School principal Felicia Gyam dismissed claims that the school had prior warnings, insisting that “there was no such notification.”
- Headmistress Blessing Amodu urged authorities to intensify rescue efforts, noting the heavy emotional toll on staff and families.
Attempts to get an official response from the Niger State Government were unsuccessful.
Source: Punch Online
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