Parents in the remote Nigerian community of Papiri say they have received no information from authorities after more than 300 schoolchildren were abducted by armed men last week. Many spend their days at the dusty school compound, clinging to hope as silence from the government deepens their despair.
Some say the strain has already claimed lives, including a parent who died of a heart attack while waiting for news. Families describe a heavy grief, with Emmanuel Ejeh recalling how his wife fainted after learning their 12-year-old son had been taken.
The abduction of 303 children from a Catholic school in Niger state marks the latest mass kidnapping in a region plagued by armed gangs seeking ransom. Fifty children have escaped, but no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The military says helicopters and ground troops are searching the forests where the gunmen fled, yet families insist no official has told them how the rescue is unfolding. Military personnel have mingled with anxious parents, offering presence but few answers. The raid came just days after 25 students were seized in neighbouring Kebbi state, all of whom were later rescued and reunited with their families.
An Associated Press tally shows at least 1,799 students have been abducted in major Nigerian school attacks since the 2014 Chibok kidnapping that shocked the world. Pastor Yohanna Yakubu said he rushed to the school after hearing his daughter was among the 12 teachers taken, only to find her dormitory window shattered.
Some parents fear their children may not survive, including Danteni Mathew, whose youngest son was living with hepatitis C before he was abducted. Nigeria once promised sweeping safety reforms under its Safe School Initiative, but activists say little has changed. Analysts warn that armed groups, from local bandits to jihadist factions, increasingly view mass abductions as a potent weapon against the state.
