Nigeria’s long-running security crisis once again surged to the forefront of global attention after authorities confirmed the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State. The mass kidnapping, carried out on November 21 in the village of Papiri, was one of the largest in nearly a decade, drawing comparisons to the 2014 Chibok tragedy that shocked the world. While the latest development offers a moment of relief for some families, the broader crisis remains unresolved: 165 students and staff from the same raid are still being held, and the government is racing against time to prevent yet another mass tragedy.

The attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School is symptomatic of the escalating violence plaguing northern Nigeria, where gangs commonly referred to as “bandits” have turned mass abductions into a lucrative enterprise. These groups-ranging from opportunistic criminal networks to extremist factions-operate with near impunity across large swaths of the north, exploiting weak state presence, porous borders, and a collapsing trust between communities and authorities. The latest abduction underscores just how entrenched the crisis has become and how difficult it is proving for President Bola Tinubu’s administration to reverse the trend.

Gunmen stormed the boarding school shortly before dawn, rounding up 315 individuals-303 students and 12 teachers-in what security officials have described as the worst school kidnapping since the Chibok abductions. The attackers overpowered local security forces with ease, demonstrating once again the inadequacy of the security architecture in rural areas. Within days, 50 students managed to escape, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),........

© Blitz