newYou can now listen to Fox News articles.
Nigerian gunmen kidnapped several students and staff from a Catholic school early Friday morning, in the latest attack on a Christian institution.
Nigerian news outlet Arise TV reported that 52 children were abducted from St. Mary’s School. The Catholic facility is located in Papiri community in Agwara local government, The Associated Press reported, citing Niger State Government Secretary Abubakar Usman. The newspaper added that Usman did not say how many children were abducted in the attack.
The Niger State Police Command said it had dispatched military and security forces to the area where the attack took place early Friday morning, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, the Niger State Police Command said St. Mary’s School educates students between the ages of 12 and 17 years.
One security guard was “seriously injured” in the attack, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement released by the Catholic diocese of Contagora.
Gunmen attack church in Nigeria, kill 2 people, kidnap others
Drone footage of Christians leaving St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church after Sunday Mass in Palm Grove, Lagos, Nigeria, November 2, 2025. (Sodiku Adelakun/Reuters)
After the attack, Usman issued a statement condemning the abduction and said St. Mary’s University had decided to reopen despite security intelligence warnings of the growing threat, according to Arise TV.
“Unfortunately, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and reopen for school without notifying or seeking permission from the provincial government, thereby exposing students and staff to avoidable risks,” the statement reads.
The attack at St Mary’s school follows a similar incident earlier this week when armed assailants kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi state and killed at least one staff member. The search for the abducted female students is still ongoing.
Gunmen attacked Christ the Apostle Church on Wednesday, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor and 38 worshipers, Reuters reported. Video of the attack, reviewed and verified by Reuters, shows armed men entering the church and robbing worshipers of their belongings as gunshots ring out. The same media later reported that church officials said the gunmen had demanded a ransom of 100 million naira (about $69,000) for each believer.
Gunmen pick up belongings left behind by worshipers who fled after hearing gunshots while walking to a church in Elku, Kwara State, Nigeria, on November 18, 2025. This photo obtained from social media. (via social media/Reuters)
Rap star Nicki Minaj thanks President Trump for tackling Christian persecution in Nigeria
A spate of attacks on Christians in Nigeria prompted President Donald Trump to declare the West African country a “country of particular concern” for the persecution of Christians. However, the Nigerian government disputes the US claim.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz hosted an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Walz called the killing of Christians in Nigeria “genocide disguised as chaos.”
“My people, our entire faith is being erased one bullet at a time, one burned Bible at a time,” Walz said.
Nicki Minaj is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz prior to a panel discussion titled “Combating Religious Violence and Killing of Christians in Nigeria” at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City on November 18, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Click here to download the FOX News app
Rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who has been vocal in her support for the Trump administration’s efforts to combat Christian persecution in Nigeria, spoke at the Waltz event. “Families are torn apart and entire communities live in constant fear because of the way they pray,” Minaj lamented.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.
