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Kidnapping Kidnapping/Abduction NNG1353

Bandits attacked Catholic Secondary School in Papiri community, Agwara LGA, Niger, abducting 303 students

21 Nov 2025 · Papiri, Agwara, Niger

Deaths

0

Injured

0

Kidnapped

303

Total casualties

0

Perpetrators

Bandits

Response

Police confirmed abduction; security agencies mobilized; incident sparked national outrage as one of the largest school kidnappings in Nigeria’s history

Displacement

0

Socioeconomic drivers

Banditry, ransom economy, weak school security, rural vulnerability

Trajectory

Incident reflects escalation of mass school abductions, echoing Chibok (2014), Dapchi (2018), Jangebe (2021), Kuriga (2024), and Kebbi (2025), but with an unprecedented scale in Niger

Cycle notes

Insurgent and Bandits abductions show cyclical violence, with schools remaining symbolic and persistently vulnerable targets

Pattern

Mass school abductions in North Central Nigeria

Source


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At approximately 9:15 pm, gunmen attacked Kobi and Kpaduma 3 villages in the Guzape area of the Federal Capital Territory. The FCT Police Command received a distress call reporting gunshots along Kobi Village Road in Kpaduma III. The Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao Adewale, personally led a response team comprising the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Rapid Response Squad, and the Divisional Police Officer, Asokoro Division, to the scene. Upon sighting the police team, the assailants opened fire, using two female victims as human shields to escape. The police team engaged them in a fierce chase and successfully rescued the two female victims unhurt. Two community vigilante members sustained gunshot injuries during the confrontation. They were evacuated to the National Hospital, Abuja, where one was confirmed dead, while the other remains in critical but stable condition. The kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled as a result of heavy firepower. The deceased vigilante was identified as Bako Pwaza (also referred to as Bako or Bello).

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