Niger school abduction: 2 parents die

Two parents of the children abducted from St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, have died. The proprietor of the school and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed the death, saying the deceased parents include one male and one female. He said […]

Two parents of the children abducted from St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, have died.

The proprietor of the school and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed the death, saying the deceased parents include one male and one female.

He said the male parent, identified as Anthony Musa, passed away after suffering a heart attack triggered by the abduction of his three children.

The bishop said efforts were ongoing to ascertain the cause of death of the female parent, as the school had yet to reach her family.

“The male parent, Anthony Musa, died of a heart attack. But for the female parent who died, we have yet to establish the cause of her death because we couldn’t reach her family,” he said.

Some parents who spoke with Daily Trust said they were becoming increasingly frustrated and traumatised, especially considering the young ages of the abducted children.

One of the parents, Sunday Ishaku, said his son is only 11 years old and expressed fear over how the children would survive in the forest.

Last Friday, armed bandits abducted 303 students from a Catholic school. The Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) later said that 50 students had escaped and reunited with their parents. On Tuesday, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago announced that additional children had been rescued from their captors, although the exact number of those recovered was yet to be confirmed.