A growing body of accounts from residents in Papiri has shed troubling light on how armed men raided St. Mary’s Catholic Missionary School after repeatedly warning that the attack was coming.
The incident, which has left families searching desperately for their children, has intensified concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the region.
According to The Sun, residents explained that the assault did not come as a surprise. According to them, the attackers had sent two separate letters to the school, explicitly stating their intention to strike.
Community members also linked the latest violence to an earlier ambush on the convoy of the Agwara/Borgu Federal Constituency representative, Hon. Jafaru Mohammed Ali, where six soldiers lost their lives.
A resident who spoke under anonymity said the warnings had once triggered a swift response. “When those letters came, the school quickly hired local vigilantes to protect the children,” the resident explained.
“However, after weeks had passed without an incident, the school relaxed the arrangement. That decision is haunting everyone now.”
The school management has remained silent since the attack, but a recent government statement confirming security alerts in the area aligns with the community’s recollections.
State officials suggested that intelligence reports had earlier indicated an impending assault by armed groups operating around Agwara.
Witnesses gave further insights into how the attack unfolded. Many of the abducted students were from the primary section, which was the first area the attackers stormed.
Older students in the secondary wing reportedly managed to escape by scaling the fence and fleeing into the surrounding forest.
“Aside from the shock and confusion, no one can even give an accurate number of the missing pupils right now,” a community source noted.
The chaos intensified when the truck used by the abductors broke down during their escape, forcing the gunmen to abandon it and march the children deeper into the bush.
Among those taken was the local government’s APC youth leader, identified as Alhaji Musa, who eyewitnesses said was seized alongside the students.
Residents say security forces only arrived around 9 a.m., long after the attackers had vanished.
One villager summed up the community’s frustration: “We kept warning that something terrible was coming, yet help came when everything was already gone.”
The atmosphere in Agwara remains tense as search efforts continue, with families clinging to hope that the abducted children will be rescued unharmed.