Nigeria's Alarm: Over 300 Students Taken in Shocking School Abduction

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Nigeria is grappling with one of its most severe mass abductions yet.

Over 300 Students and Teachers Kidnapped

• Confirmed by the Christian Association of Nigeria
• Higher than initially thought
• Grim reminder of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping

The Attack

• Early Friday morning
• Armed men stormed St. Mary's School in Papiri
• Parents devastated, pleading for safe return
• Police on high alert, searching forests

A Pattern of Violence

• Just this week:
• Over 20 schoolgirls kidnapped in Kebbi state
• Church attack in Kwara state: 2 dead, 38 abducted
• President Bola Tinubu postpones trips to focus on security
• Schools closing, fear and anger growing

The Ransom Problem

• Kidnappings for ransom widespread
• Despite laws banning payments, practice continues
• Funds these criminal gangs
• Analysts: Some attacks driven by religious tensions, many about resources like land and water

The Chibok Connection

• 2014: Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok
• World rallied for their return, but many still missing
• This time, the scale is even larger, the stakes higher

The Question on Everyone's Mind

"When will these abductions stop?"