PAPIRI, NIGERIA — Armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic schools on 21, November, 2025, dragging away hundreds of children and teachers. Nearly a month later, 165 remain in captivity, and the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) are pleading for the world to act.
The attackers seized 265 students and staff at gunpoint. Roughly 100 have since been freed, but the rest — some barely old enough to read — are still held in the bush.
“This is a tragedy plunging families into fear and uncertainty,” the OLA Sisters said, demanding urgent international intervention. Their appeal has turned into a rallying cry across Nigeria and beyond.
In Papiri, parents keep vigil by candlelight, praying for their children’s safe return. One mother broke down: “Every night I dream my child is home. Every morning, I wake to the nightmare.”
Community elders branded the raid “an assault on our future,” warning that the abduction threatens the very survival of education in the region.
Nigeria’s Catholic bishops echoed the alarm, declaring that “schools are under siege” and urging authorities to deliver more than promises.
International Catholic groups in Europe and America have joined the chorus, pressing governments and NGOs to step in. Human rights advocates say the case exposes Nigeria’s deepening security collapse.
Officials in Abuja insist rescue operations are underway, but critics dismiss the pledges as “empty assurances” after years of repeated mass kidnappings.
Global NGOs are now calling for coordinated action, arguing Nigeria cannot fight this crisis alone. The Sisters’ plea has amplified pressure on leaders to move beyond rhetoric.
For now, the children remain missing, families remain broken, and Papiri waits in agony — its cry for help echoing across the world.
