Two weeks after armed men stormed St Mary’s Catholic boarding school in the remote village of Papiri, Niger State, the families of more than 260 abducted pupils and staff are clinging to assurances from the federal government that the children will be safely returned.

More than 300 students were seized when gunmen raided the dormitories before dawn on 21 November. Around "50 managed to escape" in the chaos and reunited with their families, but 265 children, teachers and school workers remain in captivity.

Among the waiting parents is Samaila Livinus, a 44-year-old farmer from Minna, whose five-year-old son is the youngest among those taken.

Since receiving the early morning call that his child was missing, Livinus has barely left the house. 

He spends his days meeting neighbours and church members who come to console the family, while trying to offer reassurance to his two other children, aged nine and three, who repeatedly ask when their brother will return.

He describes the past fortnight as the most exhausting period of his life. Having previously coped with the deaths of both parents and a child, he says nothing compares with the uncertainty of not knowing what a missing son may be facing. 

His worry is deepened by the fact that the boy has been receiving treatment for a health condition.

Livinus told local church officials that a family friend, whose own two children were also abducted, died shortly after the incident following cardiac complications, heightening the sense of anguish in the community.

Government renews assurances

On Monday, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, travelled to Kontagora to meet the Catholic bishop who oversees the diocese responsible for St Mary’s. 

School officials say Ribadu relayed new briefings from security agencies and assured them that the abducted pupils were alive and that efforts to bring them home were progressing.

The bishop, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, said the visit eased some of the strain that church leaders and parents had been carrying, adding that the government’s renewed commitment had brought “a measure of relief” to families who have struggled to sleep since the attack.

Security sources say the location of the captives has been established and that negotiations are ongoing, though no specific timeline for their release has been given.

A community in limbo

The raid has prompted the Ministry of Education to order the closure of 47 federal boarding schools across Nigeria, citing the need to prevent further attacks on vulnerable pupils.

Notably, the incident has again highlighted the rise in mass abductions by armed groups operating across Nigeria’s north-west and north-central states. Kidnappings for ransom have become a lucrative tactic for criminal gangs, with rural schools often targeted due to weak security infrastructure.

For families such as the Livinus household, daily life now revolves around prayer, fasting and waiting. Despite his distress, Livinus maintains a calm outward appearance as he welcomes visitors who offer support.

He says the government’s latest message has given him renewed strength: a hope that the long wait may soon end.


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