More than 300 pupils and staff of St. Mary Catholic School in Niger State were kidnapped by bandits during a midnight attack, with a teacher recounting how her husband was taken, her children threatened at gunpoint, and only 50 abductees so far returning home.
A teacher at St. Mary Catholic School in Agwara, Niger State, has described the horrifying moment armed bandits stormed the school and kidnapped her husband along with more than 300 pupils and staff members in the early hours of Friday, November 21, 2025.
Mrs. Martha Mathias, who teaches in the primary section, said the attackers arrived around 1 a.m. in three vehicles and several motorcycles, causing chaos as children screamed for help across the compound.
According to her, the incident began while she and other staff members were asleep in their quarters.
“I heard children crying, ‘Please help us… where are the teachers? Please come and help us,’” she recalled.
She tried to step outside, but her husband warned her to stay down as the attackers moved across the premises. Despite her fear, she attempted several times to check on the children, but the danger outside was too high.
The bandits soon gathered the pupils and demanded to know where their parents and teachers were. After the children pointed out the teachers’ rooms, the attackers began moving door to door.
Mrs. Mathias said they first went to her colleague’s room before arriving at hers.
“They asked my husband to come out, told him to lie down, tied his hands behind his back, and carried him away,” she said.
She was eventually told to step out with her infant child, but the bandits ransacked her room while she retrieved the baby. During the attack, her young daughter tried to run to her and insisted on following her parents.
“They pointed a gun at her forehead and said they would kill her if she didn’t stop crying or go back,” she recounted.
“She refused and said she must follow me. One of them finally said they should leave us and let her return. That was how they left us.”
Mrs. Mathias also revealed that the attackers stole money kept by teachers in their rooms after recent salary payments.
According to earlier reports, about 303 pupils and 12 staff members were abducted during the attack. Security operatives, including police and military units, were immediately deployed to track the kidnappers.
A recent update confirmed that 50 pupils have found their way back to their families, while the remaining abducted students and staff are still being held captive.
READ ALSO: Good News: Kidnapped UNN students regain freedom
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