Gunmen have invaded Papiri village under Agwara area of Niger State, North-Central, in a midnight raid on Friday and kidnapped an unspecified number of pupils from St. Mary’s School in the Agwara area under Borgu Emirate.
A community source who spoke to THE WHISTLER narrated that the gunmen raided the school around 1am, leaving the community in fear.
One of the sources, who pleaded anonymity, said dozens of pupils were kidnapped during the night raid.
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“I cannot confirm the number of kidnapped pupils. The abduction happened on the night of Thursday to Friday. The school is a mixture of boys and girls pupils in Papiri area,” he said.
The source explained that determining the exact number of victims has proven difficult.
“The number of victims cannot be specified as some kidnapped pupils who manage to escape are still returning from the bushes,” he said.
The source further stated that gunmen left with many of the pupils and the school is yet to ascertain the number of abducted victims.
THE WHISTLER learnt that the school watchman was shot during the raid and is now receiving medical attention in an undisclosed hospital.
Another community source, Usman, who gave only his first name for security reasons, confirmed to THE WHISTLER in a telephone call that the watchman in St Mary School was brutally shot by the gunmen.
“The security officer who is positioned in the school was hit by a gunman’s bullet. The attack was carried out after 1am,” he told THE WHISTLER.
Usman noted that while St. Mary School is a boarding school, the gunmen specifically targeted the primary school section.
“It is a boarding school but the gunmen targeted the Primary section of the school, kidnapping an unspecified number of pupils in the attack,” he said, adding that some pupils were able to escape.
Wasiu Abiodun, the Police spokeswoman, was not available for comment. The WhatsApp and SMS messages sent to him remained unattended to.
The Head of Department, Disaster and Relief, Agwara Local Government Abdullahi Rofia, however confirmed the attack but could not give a number of abducted victims.
The incident comes barely a week after gunmen invaded a school in Kebbi State and kidnapped at least 25 girls during the attack.