By Yakubu Mustapha Minna
The United Nations Children’s Fund Charter (UNICEF) states that all children, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, have the right to quality education. In the north of the country, the picture is even bleaker, with a net attendance rate of 53 percent. Getting out-of-school children back into education poses a massive challenge.
According to UNICEF, about 10.5 million of the Nigeria’s children aged 5-14 are not in school as only 61 percent of 6-11 years olds regularly attend primary schools and only 35.6 percent of children aged 36-59 month receive early childhood education.
Findings by our Reporter have it on good authority that there is no military base in the area encompassing the entirety of Agwara LGA and the vast majority of Borgu LGA North of Kainji Game Reserve. The Police in the area are also ill equipped and have shortage of personnel, few if any operational vehicles nor sufficient firearms to tackle insecurity. It has also come to our attention that there is need for more co-ordination between the various security agencies operating in the area, in particular with the military. Both Borgu and Agwara Local Government areas were originally part of Kwara state. On the 27th August 1991 they became part of Niger State. However, it would appear that the military command structure has not been changed to date. Such a laborious chain of command poses a serious obstacle to the rapid deployment of troops to deal with the bandit insurgents.
In view of the above, St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary schools Papiri, in Agwara local government area of Niger State, need the total Security support of not only the state, but specifically of the Federal government, if they are to have any hope of ever re-opening. Since the abduction of school children in Papiri there has been a Mobile Police presence of approximately 40 personnel guarding the village and the school. However, in spite of this, every day more and more people in Papiri and the nearby Villages of Guffanti, Sokonbara and Bako-Mission are packing their loads and leaving the area entirely due to fear of further attacks, especially since the nearby Kasuwan Daji massacre. It is imperative therefore that there is a permanent Military as well as Police base on the ground in the area, capable of not only defending life and property, safeguarding the lives of Pupils, teachers and villagers alike, but also capable of taking the fight to the enemy. The current situation in Papiri is not fair on the Mobile Police where 40 of them are expected to defend against at least more than twice that number of attacking bandits.
Niger State government’s recent directive that schools with threats of terrorist attack should remain closed has given credence to speculation that St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, being the only quality educational institution in the area, is being threatened with permanent closure. In this light, we need sufficiently numerous security presence in the area capable of defending the village of Papiri itself, and its inhabitants.
With a view to complementing the government’s efforts and to ensure children acquire basic education in Agwara LGA, the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora established the fully equipped St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary schools Papiri, with both Day and Boarding students to serve those who attend school from far distant communities which are up to 100 kilometres away. The abduction of 230 children and teachers and the recent slaughter of 42 persons in Kasuwan Daji market, bordering Agwara and Borgu local government areas and only 15km from Papiri is another clear indication of the absence of a credible security presence in the area as the terrorists were able to burn the market and village to the ground in broad daylight without fear of any security force personnel.
The Proprietor of the school and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna commended the Federal and State governments, the security agencies and the Media for their roles in ensuring the children and teachers were rescued. He urged the government to see that Papiri Schools speedily re-open adequately protected by a well-equipped and sufficiently numerous security forces capable of protecting the children and deterring and if necessary repelling any future attack.
In a passionate appeal during an interview with Journalists, Bishop Bulus D Yohanna who is also the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger state chapter, appealed to the government to stand by their words by establishing a military outpost and empowering the security agencies to always be present in Agwara.
Also, in a statement on Tuesday 6th January 2026, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, called for stronger protection of civilian spaces and schools following the spate of attacks in Niger State.
Fall also described the abduction of children and teachers of St. Mary’s Catholic School as a grave violation of human rights, including the right to life and the protection of civilians, saying “particularly, the abduction of women and children undermine the right to education.”
Niger state Commissioner for Homeland Security, Barrister Maurice Magaji in a telephone interview said comprehensive efforts are being put in place to ensure security is in place in Agwara, Borgu and other troubled LGAs.
He however explained that the government would not want to put the lives of its people at risk by rushing to open schools in troubled areas saying “the government has a responsibility to protect lives and properties. Life comes before education, let us be calm and as soon as there is calm within a short time, the schools in these troubled areas will be opened in phases.”
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger state, Jonathan Tsado Vatsa called for the immediate establishment of a military base and the deployment of marine Police to Agwara local government as a way to minimize the persistent terrorists’ attacks in the area.
The former Publicity Secretary of APC who was a Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in the state said in a statement in Minna titled: “Urgent call for the establishment of Naval Base and Deployment of Marine Police in Agwara local government area of Niger State”, expressed great worries that the River Niger has increasingly become a security blind spot that enables armed groups to evade land-based security operations.
It could be recalled that after the Federal Government’s delegation led by Mallam Nuhu, Ribadu, (National Security Adviser to President Bola Tinubu) visited Kontagora, parents, relatives and authorities of St Mary Catholic School, Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, were able to breathe a hopeful sigh of relief with the assurance that “the 230 children and teachers are doing fine and would return back safely”.
Worried by the level of insecurity and government’s directive to close schools till further notice in Agwara and other areas, the Principal of the school, Rev. Sister Felicia Gyang, appealed to the federal and state governments including the security agencies to prioritise security in Agwara LGA so as to ensure the children are not denied education and for the safety of everyone including teachers, parents and residents.
One of the teachers who narrated his ordeal, Cyril Ibrahim while commending the school authority, the government and security agencies for their roles in ensuring their safe rescue, appealed for a beef up in security in Papiri, saying “this is the only good school in this local government area that serves more than 50 communities. We are begging the government to do all it can to ensure this school continues by providing security for us.”
Mr. Markus Abuka whose only child was abducted and rescued said that although they as parents were devastated, that all hope was not lost as they all resorted to prayers and to trust the promise made by the federal government through the NSA. However, pained by the recent attacks that claimed 42 lives in nearby Kasuwa Daji, Abuka who was seen in a trending short video alongside other villagers, urged the government to set up a military base and joint security outpost to safeguard the lives of the people in Agwara LGA and neighbouring communities such as Sokonbara and other vulnerable villages like Bako-Mission in Borgu LGA, where bandits either by day or night, regularly pass through on their way to carrying out atrocities. Our rescued children he said are presently being doubly traumatised as they are forced together with their parents to hide in the bush at night for fear of being kidnapped again or murdered.
Another parent, Livinus Samaila appealed to the government to do all it can to ensure the school still functions as it is the only school that serves almost 60 communities. In his words: “if nothing is done, all our children will be deprived of education, and many of us will end up murdered by these terrorists because we do not have anywhere to go to. We need security and Military outposts so that our children and even us the parents can live freely without fear of being attacked.” Without the rapid deployment of an overwhelming Military force, North Borgu and Agwara face enslavement by these bandits.
Some of the students. Florence Michael and Felicia Musa while recounting their ordeals in the hands of the abductors, prayed the governments to do all they can to provide security, saying “We want to continue with our education. If we don’t continue, we will all go back to farms and be denied basic education”.
President Bola Tinubu quickly responded to the killing of 42 persons by terrorists in Kasuwan Daji by directing Minister of Defence, Service Chiefs, and Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to track down and apprehend the perpetrators by ensuring that they are swiftly brought to justice. He also directed security agencies to rescue all the abducted victims urgently.
President Tinubu through a Press statement by his Special Adviser on Information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga strongly condemned the attack on the Kasuwan Daji Community and the abduction of women and children.
President Tinubu then assured that “as a country, we must stand together as one people and confront these monsters in unison. United, we can and must defeat them, deny them any sanctuary. We must reclaim the peace and security of these attacked communities”.
A few days ago, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu said when he visited Niger state that additional resources for training of the Nigerian Army will be provided to help stem the tide of insecurity confronting Niger state.
In his words: “We will conduct operational visits to Headquarters of 31 Artillery Brigade and 18 Brigade in Bida to assess operational gaps with the view to addressing them.
The Niger state Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago after the gruesome killings also condemned the attacks noted that it is disturbing and worrying to start the year with such unfortunate incidents.
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The Proprietor of the school and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna commended the Federal and State governments, the security agencies and the Media for their roles in ensuring the children and teachers were rescued. He urged the government to see that Papiri Schools speedily re-open adequately protected by a well-equipped and sufficiently numerous security forces capable of protecting the children and deterring and if necessary repelling any future attack.
