Gunmen kidnapped at least 227 students and teachers from a Catholic school in Nigeria. The Association of Christians in Nigeria announced this on Friday. Local television station Arise News previously reported that 52 students from the school had been kidnapped. The Niger state government confirmed the kidnapping but said the exact number of those abducted was still being assessed.
Security agencies were searching for the students, authorities said. The school ignored instructions that boarding schools should be closed. The reason is intelligence information about a high probability of attack. Nigeria has long been hit by attacks by armed groups looking to kidnap people and extort ransom.
President Tinubu cancels overseas trip
A church representative said on Friday that 38 believers were kidnapped from a church in Kwara State on Tuesday. A ransom of 100 million naira will be demanded for each hostage – the equivalent of almost 60,000 euros. 25 students were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi state on Monday. Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states border each other.
The wave of attacks prompted Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to cancel an overseas trip to South Africa and Angola. There he is scheduled to take part in the G-20 Summit and the African Union and European Union Summits.
Tinubu also sent a delegation led by the National Security Advisor to the US. He was supposed to meet with lawmakers and government representatives there. US President Donald Trump accused Nigeria of persecuting Christians there. He accused the government of not doing enough about this and threatened the West African country with military action. The Nigerian government rejects Trump’s claim that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria. This is a wrong interpretation.
