US Edition‘They Said They’d Shoot Us’: Nigerian Child Recalls How He Was Taken in Mass School Abduction
About 100 students were freed more than two weeks after the Nov. 21 abduction of 303 pupils and 12 teachers; 153 students and staff remain captive, officials said.
- On Nov. 21, Chieme was freed on Sunday along with 99 other students after the abduction of 303 schoolchildren from St. Mary Catholic School in Papiri.
- No group has claimed responsibility for the Papiri abduction, while the leader said it was 'just money' and gunmen smashed the gate, burned a Mary statue and Nigerian flag, and used motorbikes and buses to transport captives.
- Captives said they were beaten if noisy and sometimes sheltered under trees when aircraft flew overhead, while authorities say 153 remain held including teachers and Chieme's brother.
- The government did not disclose how the releases occurred or whether any suspects were arrested, while Chieme's family expressed relief but remains worried for the brother still held.
- The Papiri abduction followed an attack in neighboring Kebbi that seized 25 students, worsening fears that keep children out of school in Nigeria's education sector.
24 Articles
24 Articles
‘They said they’d shoot us’: Nigerian child recalls how he was taken in mass school abduction
The children at St. Mary Catholic School in Nigeria’s Papiri community were jolted from their sleep with a loud crash at the school gate. Half asleep and confused, they dashed out of their dorms, some landing in the hands of gunmen.
Associated Press News
'They said they'd shoot us': Nigerian child recalls how he was taken in mass school abduction
When gunmen stormed St. Mary Catholic School in Nigeria's Papiri community, the children tried to escape but were told they would be shot if they ran away.
catholicworldreport.com
Biweekly Newspaper for the Diocese of RichmondRights group hails release of 100 children abducted from Nigerian Catholic school
ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 19:10 pm Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a UK-based human rights organization, has welcomed the release of 100 schoolchildren, who were among 303 children abducted on Nov. 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary [...]
Rights group reacts to release of 100 children abducted from Nigerian Catholic school
Empty beds in a student dormitory at St Mary's Catholic School in the Kontagora Diocese.on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 19:10 pm (CNA). Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a UK-based human rights organization, has welcomed the release of 100 schoolchildren, who were among 303 children abducted on Nov. 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri community in Nigeria’s Niger Sta…
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