Diocese denies receiving Niger govt alert before St. Mary’s abduction

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has denied claims by the Niger State Government that it ignored a security warning before the abduction of pupils and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area.

The Diocese said Friday’s government statement — which blamed the school for reopening despite a security advisory — was the first time it heard of any directive suspending activities in the area.

Bulus Yohanna, who spoke for the Diocese, said he immediately contacted Governor Mohammed Umar Bago after seeing the government’s announcement and made it clear that the Church received no message, memo, or notice asking the school to shut down.

“I was on a call with the governor when I saw the message,” he said. “We didn’t get any message. We don’t know how the SSA tried to send it. We didn’t receive anything.”

Yohanna added that the Diocese was still trying to compile accurate details of the attack, including the exact number of pupils and staff taken.

“For now, we have no fresh details. Attendance checks are ongoing,” he said.

The Niger State Government had earlier issued a statement blaming the school for reopening despite what it described as “credible intelligence reports” warning of heightened threats across parts of Niger North.

According to the statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Abubakar Usman, all boarding schools and construction sites in the affected zone were expected to shut down pending further notice.

The government insisted that St. Mary’s failed to comply and thereby exposed its pupils and staff “to avoidable risk”.

Security agencies have since launched a coordinated search-and-rescue operation and are still working to determine the full number of abducted persons.

Gunmen attacked the school in the early hours of Friday and took away an unconfirmed number of students and staff. Families and local authorities are still checking hostels and attendance lists to determine those missing.