Parents of the students abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State, held a peaceful protest on Saturday, accusing the government of negligence and failing to take visible action eight days after the attack.
More than 200 worried parents gathered at the school to register their names and those of their missing children, following a documentation request from the government.
Many of them travelled long distances some riding motorcycles for up to four hours just to be part of the exercise.
The attack took place on November 21, when gunmen invaded St. Mary’s Catholic School and kidnapped more than 300 pupils and 12 teachers.
About 50 students managed to escape two days later, but the majority remain in captivity. This incident happened just days after 26 schoolgirls were abducted in another part of the state.
Despite both the state and federal governments announcing that special security forces had been deployed, the protesting parents said no government official had visited or contacted them since the incident.
Holding placards with messages such as “Bring Back Our Girls,” “Is Education a Crime?” and “Our Children Are Still in Captivity,” the parents expressed their frustration at what they described as government silence and lack of action.
Rev. Fr. Stephen Okafor, the school’s Director of Communication, said the parent registration exercise was ordered by the government. He added that the large turnout from parents should put an end to rumours and doubts about the abduction.
Another priest, Rev. Fr. Linus Arege, confirmed that at least 215 parents and guardians had been registered so far, noting that officials from Agwarra Local Government and the Catholic Diocese were supervising the process.
A parent, Joseph Dimas whose son Julius, a JSS 2 student, is still missing criticised the government for initially denying the abduction. Another parent, Emmanuel Ejeh, said he never imagined such an attack could happen, explaining that his two older children had graduated from the same school without any issues.
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and proprietor of the school, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, said he remained hopeful that the captives would be rescued soon.
He called for continued prayers and support, explaining that coordinating parents from more than 50 communities had been difficult.
Meanwhile, the school principal, Rev. Sister Felicia Gyam, dismissed claims that the school had received a prior warning before the attack. “There was no such notification. Anyone making that claim should provide evidence,” she said.
The Headmistress, Mrs. Blessing Amodu, described the situation as emotionally draining and appealed to authorities to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted students and staff.
Efforts to get comments from the Niger State Government were unsuccessful, as messages sent to Governor Umaru Bago’s Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, were not returned at the time of filing this report.
