A father has told the BBC he felt powerless as he witnessed gunmen on motorbikes abduct dozens of children, including his son, after storming a Catholic boarding school in northern Nigeria in the early hours of Friday.
The father said he was asleep when he was awoken by the noise of the gunmen as they sped past his home with the children they had seized from St Mary's school in Papiri village in Niger state.
They [the children] were being trafficked on foot the way shepherds control their herds. Some children were falling and the men would kick them and instruct them to stand up.
The gunmen were on about 50 motorcycle bikes while controlling them, said the father, whose name we have changed to Theo for his safety.
Anguished, Theo recalled, I felt like going [to help] but I thought better of it. Even if I did go, what could I do? I couldn't do anything, he told the BBC, adding that he called the police but it was too late by the time they arrived.
According to the Christian Association of Nigeria, 303 students and 12 members of staff were abducted from the school, while 50 children managed to avoid being taken away and have been reunited with their families.
However, the police reported they were only aware of a few children escaping during the abduction.
Niger state Governor Umar Bago stated that the number of abducted students had been exaggerated, claiming it was far, far below 303. He criticized the school for continuing operations despite prior threats from armed groups.
The bishop of the school, Bishop Bulus Bawa Yohanna, stated that no security personnel were deployed in the area since the abductions, prompting anger from parents like Theo.
Our children were kidnapped, but the government doesn't seem to pay attention to it, Theo lamented. Another parent emotionally shared, I am sad, my whole life is filled with sadness, pleading for help in locating her missing child.
The rising wave of kidnappings has alarmed many across Nigeria, forcing the closure of schools as parents scramble to protect their children.
President Bola Tinubu cut short his G20 trip to address the crisis, promising that every Nigerian has a right to safety under his governance. However, the situation remains dire, with numerous abductions reported across the nation.
