The Government of Nigeria is not rescuing children abducted from school

• More than 300 students were abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria on November 21.
• The government of Nigeria has not taken effective measures to rescue the children.
• The school safety program is faced with issues of implementation and insufficient funding.

A crisis continues in Nigeria with mass abductions of schoolchildren. On November 21, 2025, more than 300 students and 12 staff members were abducted from the Catholic school of St. Mary in the village of Papiri, located in the state of Niger. This incident marked the second mass abduction in the past week, as earlier nearly 20 girls were captured in the neighboring state of Kebbi.

The chief Catholic priest of the region, Bishop Bulus Daya Yohanna, stated that the government of Nigeria does not exhibit any tangible measures for the rescue of the children. He noted that the only official step taken was the compilation of a list of the abducted, without any active measures from the government. In response, the head of the police in the state of Niger prohibited the school from cooperating in operations for search and rescue.

The government of Nigeria emphasizes that the situation in the region is caused not only by religious conflicts but also by criminal activity and land disputes. Recently, the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, mentioned his intention to address this crisis at the G20 summit. He asserted that all abducted victims from Kwara were released.

At the same time, in Nigeria, there is a program "Initiative for Safe Schools," created to protect educational institutions from attacks. However, according to expert data, the implementation of this program remains limited and ineffective. Many schools remain vulnerable to attacks, and only 528 out of 81,000 schools are registered to participate in this initiative.

In addition, Nigeria is observing an increase in violence from terrorist groups, such as "Boko Haram," which undermines school safety. Many parents have started to withdraw their children from schools due to concerns for their safety, which has led to the closure of many educational institutions.

Tags: Crime