Dare Babalola
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Bulus Yohanna, who chairs the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Niger State chapter, has revealed that no communication has been received from the kidnappers of pupils and teachers from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of the state.
“So far, we have not had any contact with them. As I’m speaking now, we’ve not had any call regarding the abductors,” Yohanna said during an interview with Channels Television on Friday.
Bishop Yohanna recounted how the attackers first tried to break into the convent where the sisters live, but failed.
“I think the first attempt was to see if they could break through where the sisters are living. That didn’t happen. They were not able to break the place because when they came to the gate, they were asking, ‘Where are the sisters living?’ The gateman said, ‘Well, they work here, but they don’t live here.’ So they shot him and then forced the gate open,” he said.
He further stated that the assailants tried to force the gates between the convent and the school, but that effort also failed.
He narrated, “They tried to force the gates that separated the sisters’ convent and the school; they didn’t succeed. So eventually, they went to the hostel where we have the dormitory, where we have the children. They shot into the air, and everyone was scared.
“So many of them tried to escape, or many escaped into the bushes around. At the end of the day, they were able to make their way with some of them, and we don’t know the exact number of pupils, students, and teachers taken away.”
Yohanna confirmed a morning headcount after the attack showed 303 pupils missing and 12 teachers unaccounted for, putting the total number of abducted persons at 315.
“Now, as we started receiving calls from parents, we were able to get 50 out of the 315, including staff that could not be accounted for.
“Out of that number, we deducted them from the 315. We now have 265 as of now. That is the number that is missing,” he said.
He also addressed reports suggesting that the school had been forewarned of the attack.
“Well, what I do know is that in 2021/2022, we had rumours that the school would be attacked. So what we did was to shut down the school immediately. We reinforced the security system there, relocated students who were to write their final exams to Kontagora so that they would not miss out.
“The place was shut for five months while we built the security fence and employed more security men to mount the gate.
“Now, when we were able to do that, we resumed as other schools were running. Since then, we have not had anything—no verbal warning, no written warning—until this incident happened,” he said.
Bishop Yohanna said he was surprised by recent assertions that the Niger State Government had been forewarned of a possible attack.
“This accusation came as a surprise because if we had a warning back then, we could close the school for mere rumour that the school would be attacked. I see no reason why we should have that kind of instruction and not obey it,” he said.
Regarding cooperation from security agencies, Yohanna confirmed that he has been in communication with the DSS in Kontagora and that the sisters had submitted statements to the police at the local DPO’s office.
“The one I’ve been communicating with is the DSS in Kontagora, who has been calling me. Most of the information we have, especially the details, I’ve forwarded to him.
“The police at the DPO in Kontagora called to say that the sisters are to go and make a statement, which we have sent them, and they are going to give the details and the names of all those missing. We have all these details with them,” he said.
On the state of the parents of the abducted children, the bishop said, “Of course, they are traumatised and worried. We are praying and hoping that by the grace of God, their children will be released. Everyone is traumatised.”
Yohanna also reflected on the broader issue of school security in Nigeria. Referencing the Safe Schools Initiative launched after the Chibok abduction.
He said, “I can’t speak on state government schools. Only the schools we are aware of, the ones we own, and I told you what happened when we heard the rumour that something was going to happen.
“We shut the place and beefed up the security there. That is what we, on our own part, have done. We are listening to the Niger State governor. Officially, schools are closed in Niger State.”
