By Ibrahim Yunusa
An unidentified number of pupils and staff of St. Mary’s School in Papiri community of Agwara Local Government of Niger State were abducted by terrorists in the early hours of today, Friday.
The terrorists raided the school between 2:00 am to 3:00 am and kidnapped a number of pupils that yet to be identified by authorities.
While condemning the attack, the Niger State Government blames the school of not complying with the directives of closure of boarding schools issued by the state government.
Statement issued by the Office of the Secretary of the State Government, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, disclosed that prior intelligence report received by the government alarming an increased threat level in parts of Niger North Senatorial District, the state government in response to the credible security alerts issued a clear directive suspending all construction activities and also ordering the temporary closure of all boarding schools within the affected areas as a precautionary measure.
“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk.” the statement added.
This incident comes days after 25 students were kidnapped in Maga of Kebbi state resulting a height tension and deteriorating of security of educational institutions across the region.