Police in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State reported that a group of armed bandits invaded a private Catholic school abducting hundreds of schoolchildren early on Friday, amid widespread outrage over violence against Christians in the West African nation.
Despite some students managing to get to safety during the attack, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said 215 students and 12 teachers were abducted in the raid.
Parents have been arriving at the school to pick their children up, ahead of the school shutting down, CAN’s Niger State chapter chairman Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said.
Yohanna, who visited the school and met parents of the abducted children, said the association was working with the government and security agencies to bring the children back safely, according to his spokesman.
The abduction in Niger, which borders Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, follows a similar attack on a church by gunmen in neighboring Kwara State earlier in the week. During the church attack, at least two people were killed, and several worshippers, including the pastor, were abducted.
Continue reading the complete article on the original source
