Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Nigerian embassy in Madrid on Saturday to protest the wave of school kidnappings in Nigeria and demand stronger international and domestic action. The rally was sparked by the abduction of more than 250 students from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria last week, which rights groups say is part of a years‑long pattern of mass student kidnappings.
Christiana Wariboko, president of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, told the crowd they were speaking “on behalf of Christians” and urged foreign governments and institutions to intervene over what she described as continued killings of Nigerian Christians. The Madrid protest also highlighted a separate attack on a predominantly Muslim school in Kebbi State, where 30 students were seized before being freed by authorities, underscoring that kidnappers target schools of different faiths, often for ransom.
The demonstrations come amid heightened international attention, including recent comments by US President Donald Trump threatening possible military action in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians by Islamist groups. Nigerian officials have responded that such rhetoric oversimplifies a complex security crisis driven by criminal banditry, weak local security and socio‑economic grievances, and insist the government is committed to protecting religious freedom.
At home, anger is boiling over what many see as government inaction. Parents of pupils abducted from St. Mary Catholic School, Papiri, in Agwara LGA of Niger State also protested on Saturday, accusing state and federal authorities of negligence and slow response to securing the release of their children and teachers.
Armed men attacked the school on 21 November, taking more than 300 pupils and 12 teachers; about 50 children escaped after two days, but the rest remain in captivity. Over 200 parents travelled, some for up to four hours, to register themselves and their wards at the school after a government directive, carrying placards reading “Bring Back Our Girls” and “Is Education a Crime?”
Church officials say the registration is meant to compile accurate data to aid negotiations and support. Rev. Fr. Stephen Okafor, the school’s Director of Communication, and Fr. Linus Arege confirmed that 215 parents had been documented under diocesan and local supervision, while Kontagora Bishop Bulus Yohanna expressed hope and urged continued prayers for the safe return of those still held.
Some parents criticised authorities for initially denying that the mass abduction took place. Joseph Dimas, whose son Julius was taken, called on government to stop “saying what is not true” and instead act decisively, while another parent, Emmanuel Ejeh, lamented that older cohorts had passed through the school without ever facing such attacks.
School leaders, including Principal Rev. Sis. Felicia Gyam and Headmistress Blessing Amodu, say they remain deeply traumatised and insist there was no prior warning before the gunmen struck. They have appealed to security agencies, political leaders, religious bodies and the international community to help ensure the safe rescue of the remaining pupils and staff, warning that repeated attacks risk destroying education for children across more than 50 communities the school serves.
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