Nigeria’s Christian School Kidnapping Crisis Deepens as 13-Year-Old Survivor Recounts Terror: “I Think School Has Ended Because of Insecurity”
ABUJA, Nigeria – November 26, 2025
Nigeria’s worsening security crisis has again been thrust into global focus after a 13-year-old student, Stephen Samuel, recounted to Reuters how he escaped from terrorists who abducted 315 people from St. Mary’s School in Niger State on November 21.
The attack, one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent years, has triggered renewed outrage as abductions continue to devastate communities across Nigeria.
Stephen was among the students asleep in their dormitory when gunmen suspected to be Fulani terrorists stormed the premises in the early hours of the morning.
“When the gunmen came they met us sleeping,” he told Reuters. “They woke us up and asked us to lie down, then they tied our hands and asked us to walk out from the dormitory. But before we could leave the school, they went into the school office, brought out the picture of Mary the mother of Christ and shot at it.”
Stephen said he seized a rare moment of chaos to flee. While being marched away, one of the gunmen stopped to repair his motorcycle.
“I ran, I ran not knowing which way to follow… but I just decided to try to find my way following the road they took us through,” he recalled. “Fortunately at a point I met one of our neighbors who brought me to his house, gave me clothes to wear and brought me home.”
His voice carried the trauma of a child whose innocence had been violently interrupted.
50 Students Escape, Hundreds Still Missing
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed on Sunday that 50 students have managed to escape since the November 21 mass abduction. But with more than 300 victims taken in the raid including students and staff, St. Mary’s School remains a symbol of Nigeria’s deepening security collapse.
For Stephen, even survival offers little comfort. The fear lingers, and the future of education for thousands like him grows more uncertain by the day.
“When these people come back, are we able to go to school again?” he asked painfully. “Which school can we be able to go to again? I think that school has ended because of insecurity.”
A Country Under Siege
The attack in the Christian school in Niger State is not an isolated incident. Nigeria has endured an unrelenting wave of violence. November alone has turned into an alarming timeline that underscores how widespread and brazen Fulani terrorist groups have become.
Nov. 15: A high ranking military officer Brigadier General M. Uba was captured and executed by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) after an ambush that saw members of his team killed in Borno State.
Nov. 16: 64 civilians, including women and children, were abducted in Christian dominated area of Zamfara State. Several were killed.
Nov. 17: 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Christian dominated area of Kebbi State; their Vice Principal was shot dead.
Nov. 18: Worshippers in a church in Kwara State were attacked, with some killed and about 38 abducted.
Nov. 19: Soldiers deployed to rescue the Kebbi schoolgirls were ambushed, by Fulani terrorists.
Nov. 21: St. Mary’s School, Niger State, was raided, 315 people were taken.
The pattern has continued leaving a grim conclusion: nobody is safe not students, not soldiers, not worshippers, not entire villages.
Donald Trump’s Warning
President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued strong warnings about the escalating terror attacks against Christians in Nigeria, describing the wave of mass killings and kidnappings as unacceptable “Christian genocide” unfolding in plain sight.
He has strongly criticized the Nigerian government’s “consistent failure to protect its Christian population, and listed Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), threatening to intervene militarily to “annihilate” the terrorists responsible.
In response to his remarks, several U.S. lawmakers have amplified the pressure on his administration to reevaluate America’s security partnership with Nigeria, with so many Nigerians calling for U.S. military intervention against the terrorists.
Push Back From Tinubu’s Regime
The Bola Tinubu’s regime has pushed back sharply against international criticism, insisting that allegations of “Christian genocide” is not correct, insisting that Christians are not the only victims of the terrorism ravaging the country.
The presidency has dismissed external warnings, including those from the U.S. President Donald Trump and members of Congress as exaggerations. Instead, the government maintains that it is implementing security strategy, even as growing evidence and a surge in nationwide attacks continue to cast doubt on the effectiveness of its approach and supports the argument of the complicity of Nigerian government.
Education Under Threat
Mass abductions are driving school closures across northern Nigeria. Parents are terrified. Communities are exhausted. Students like Stephen are losing faith in the possibility of a normal childhood.
Human rights groups warn that the continued targeting of Christian children is not only a humanitarian catastrophe but a direct assault on Nigeria’s future.
As the government faces mounting pressure to respond decisively, victims and families wait in anguish. Hundreds kidnapped remain unaccounted for. Their fate is unknown.
For Stephen, the tragedy is both national and deeply personal.
“I think that school has ended,” he said, a heartbreaking verdict from a boy who only wanted to learn.
Yet his survival is a flicker of hope in a dark landscape. His testimony, and the cries of many others, demand action before more schools, more villages, or more churches are swallowed by the violence consuming the country.
