Two weeks after the mass abduction of students from a Catholic boarding school in northern Nigeria, families of the missing children say they are desperate for information and deeply frustrated by what they view as a slow and opaque government response.
More than 250 children and school staff were seized on November 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Papiri, a remote village in Niger State. While dozens managed to escape in the hours after the attack, parents say they have received no credible updates on the condition or location of the remaining captives.
For many families, the wait has become agonizing.
Sunday Gbazali, a farmer whose 14-year-old son was taken, said he barely sleeps. His wife, he added, cries constantly.
“Police keep telling us to be patient, that they are trying to rescue the children,” he said. “We are not happy with what is happening.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger State said 303 children and 12 staff were kidnapped, though state authorities later challenged the figure. According to police documentation cited by Reuters, 215 students remain unaccounted for, but it is unclear whether all families have successfully registered their missing children due to poor network coverage and long travel distances.
“I don’t know if my son is sick, healthy, or even alive,” Gbazali said. “I used to hear about these things on the news, but I never understood the pain until it happened to me.”
The attack has intensified scrutiny of Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, which persists more than a decade after Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
Under pressure at home and abroad — including criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump over alleged mistreatment of Christians, which Nigeria denies — President Bola Tinubu last week declared a nationwide security emergency. He ordered the recruitment of thousands of new soldiers and police officers to confront rising violence.
Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s national security adviser, told Catholic leaders in Kontagora on Monday that “the children are doing fine and will be back soon,” according to a CAN statement. But families say no further details have been given.
“The government says it is taking action, but we still haven’t received any information,” said Emmanuel Bala, head of the school’s parent-teacher association, whose daughter is among the missing. “The past two weeks have not been easy. We are deeply sad.”
Another parent, a civil servant who requested anonymity, said he initially believed a rescue was imminent after meeting with officials. “Unfortunately, days have passed, and we are left with little hope,” he said.
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Officials called families to the school last Friday — one week after the kidnapping — to formally register their missing children. Many traveled from distant villages, and some from neighboring states.
The registration followed public comments from Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, who said reports of the kidnapping had been exaggerated.
Reverend Father Stephen Ndubuisi-Okafor of the overseeing Catholic Diocese rejected that claim.
“We have not made up any numbers or names,” he said. “This is actually what is happening.”
Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said authorities delayed confirming the figures because they “did not want to rush to conclusions while the investigation is ongoing.”
But Bishop Bulus Yohanna, CAN chairman for Niger State, warned that the list remains incomplete because some parents never received the call to register.
The attack has drawn strong reactions from activists behind the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which began after the Chibok kidnappings. Although many of the Chibok students have since been freed, around 90 remain missing.