The abduction of more than 300 children and staff from a Catholic school in Niger State has renewed alarm over Nigeria’s spiralling security crisis and brought fresh anguish to families already living in constant fear of armed raids.
The attack on St Mary’s School in the early hours of Friday is one of the gravest incidents in recent years, occurring at a time when the country faces intensifying violence across several fronts.
Police said armed men stormed the boarding hostels shortly after 2am, when most pupils were asleep. They forced children and staff into the surrounding forests under the cover of darkness.
