Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the Federal Government to proclaim a state of emergency over rising insecurity following a mass abduction at St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
Posting on X, Atiku called the repeated kidnappings “devastating and unacceptable” and demanded urgent action. He wrote: “Not again. This is truly heartbreaking.
“How many more lives must be shattered before decisive action is taken? 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.”
Security sources report that armed men attacked the Catholic school before dawn on Friday, arriving in large numbers on more than 60 motorcycles and one van. They abducted an undetermined number of pupils and staff and fled, leaving the community in fear.
This abduction is the latest in a worrying trend of school attacks across northern Nigeria. It follows the recent seizure of 26 students from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, an attack that also cost the life of the school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku.
Separately, at least 30 worshippers were kidnapped in an assault on the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, where three people were killed.
President Bola Tinubu condemned earlier kidnappings and sent Vice President Kashim Shettima to meet victims and coordinate federal help. Still, the Papiri abduction has increased calls from the public and leaders for stronger and faster measures to curb the wave of kidnappings, especially those targeting schools.
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