 "Nigerian soldiers man a checkpoint in Gwoza, Nigeria. File image/ AP")
Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped students from a Catholic school in the early hours of Friday, Reuters reported, in the latest attack to hit the country after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the West African nation.
Police and local officials in Niger state, where the assault took place, confirmed that students were taken from St. Mary’s School but did not give a figure. Arise News reported that 52 students were abducted.
Nigeria’s insecurity has come under renewed scrutiny since Trump warned of “fast” military action if authorities fail to stop the killing of Christians. The Nigerian government has rejected Trump’s claims, calling his assertions of Christian persecution a misrepresentation.
Police said security personnel had been deployed to the area and were combing nearby forests to track down the abductors.
The Niger state government said the school had disregarded a directive to shut boarding facilities after intelligence pointed to a heightened risk of attacks.
Friday’s abduction adds to a string of incidents this week, including the kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in Kebbi state on Monday and an attack on a church in Kwara state. A church official told Reuters that 38 worshippers were seized and that the gunmen demanded a ransom of 100 million naira (about $69,000) per person.
Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states all lie adjacent to one another.
The spike in violence has forced Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to cancel planned visits to South Africa and Angola, where he was due to attend a G20 summit and an African Union–European Union meeting. He has also dispatched a delegation led by the national security adviser to Washington to engage with US lawmakers and officials.