Federal Government of Nigeria

Force in Play

Primary authority responsible for security response, negotiations, and engagement with foreign partners

In the early hours of November 21, 2025, armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, a remote community in Niger State, and abducted 315 people—303 pupils and 12 staff—in one of Nigeria’s largest school kidnappings since Chibok in 2014. Around 50 children later escaped and made their way home, but the mass abduction ignited national outrage, exposed deep security failures, and intensified scrutiny of Abuja as U.S. officials openly weighed sanctions and other measures to pressure Nigeria to better protect Christian communities and other civilians targeted in northern violence.

Updated Dec 11, 2025