‎Several pupils, teachers abducted from Catholic school in fresh attack in Niger

‎AN unknown number of pupils have been abducted by armed men from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, the second mass school kidnapping this week.
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‎The latest attack targeted St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state, where authorities had already ordered the temporary closure of all boarding schools due to rising security threats.
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‎Details remain unclear but residents fear that close to 100 students and staff may have been taken away during the early-morning raid.
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‎Nigeria has faced a renewed wave of attacks by armed groups in recent days, including the kidnapping on Monday of more than 20 schoolgirls, who the BBC has been told are Muslim, from a boarding school in nearby Kebbi state.
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‎Police said armed men – locally known as bandits – stormed St Mary’s School on Friday at about 02:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and abducted an unconfirmed number of students from their hostel.
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‎Fear and uncertainty have gripped the area as families wait for news.
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‎The authorities in Niger state said the school had disregarded an order to close all boarding facilities following intelligence warnings of a heightened risk of attacks.
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‎”Regrettably, St Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the state government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” they said in a statement.
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‎The school has not commented.