Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to immediately declare a state of emergency on insecurity after another mass abduction of schoolchildren in Niger State.
Atiku, reacting to Friday’s attack on St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, described the incident as “heartbreaking” and warned that the rising spate of kidnappings across the country now demands decisive and extraordinary action.
“How many more lives must be shattered before decisive action is taken?” he wrote on X. “It is not too late for the government to finally declare a state of emergency on insecurity and confront this menace with the urgency it deserves.”
Gunmen reportedly stormed the Catholic-run school around dawn, arriving in large numbers on more than 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van before abducting an unspecified number of students.
The Niger attack adds to a growing pattern of school kidnappings in northern Nigeria. Less than a week earlier, 26 students were seized from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State. The Vice Principal, Hassan Makuku, was killed while attempting to resist the abductors.
In another related incident, at least 30 worshippers were kidnapped during an attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, where three people lost their lives.
Reacting to the previous mass abductions, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned the attacks and sympathized with the affected families. He also directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to visit the victims.
The resurgence of coordinated assaults on schools and communities has heightened public concern, reigniting calls for stronger and more urgent security measures nationwide.
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