…I received with profound sorrow the news of the abduction of priests, faithful, and schoolchildren – Pope Leo XIV.
Vatican City, Italy — The iNews Times, Pope Leo XIV has issued a heartfelt appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 315 people abducted during a violent attack on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State.
Speaking on Sunday, the Pontiff expressed deep anguish over the mass kidnapping, which involved students, teachers, priests, and other members of the Catholic community.
“I received with profound sorrow the news of the abduction of priests, faithful, and schoolchildren. I make a heartfelt plea for the swift and unconditional release of all those being held,” Pope Leo XIV declared.
The attack unfolded in the early hours of Friday when heavily armed men stormed the private Catholic school in what authorities describe as a well-coordinated, large-scale assault.
Local accounts reveal that the assailants arrived in overwhelming numbers, riding over 60 motorcycles and supported by a van before breaching the school premises. In the course of the invasion, the school’s gatekeeper was shot and left critically injured.
Residents of Agwarra say the exact number of abducted students has not yet been confirmed.
“It happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. The number of students taken is still unclear,” one community member reported.
Another source disclosed that several teachers were also kidnapped, heightening fears about the safety of the victims and the full extent of the attack.
