Gunmen kidnap over 200 schoolgirls from a Catholic school in Nigeria

Nigeria has been hit by another wave of violence, with gunmen abducting at least 227 people from St. Mary's School, including 215 schoolgirls and 12 teachers. The Christian Association of Nigeria described the incident as the largest mass kidnapping of schoolchildren since March 2024.

The school is said to have ignored a call to close due to the heightened security risk.

In the same week, 25 girls and 38 worshippers were also abducted. The gunmen are demanding a ransom of 100 million naira per person for them.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled foreign trips because of the situation. Internationally, the situation has also attracted attention in the US, with President Donald Trump threatening Nigeria with military intervention and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth meeting with Nigeria's national security adviser.

Although the government calls the claims of persecution of Christians false, attacks on schools and religious targets bear this out.

(reuters, swag)