₦airaland Forum

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora says it did not receive any security alert or closure directive from the Niger State Government before the kidnapping of pupils at St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area.

The Diocese says the government’s public statement on Friday was the first time it became aware that such an instruction had been issued.

Speaking on behalf of the Diocese, Bulus Yohanna told FIJ that he spoke directly with Governor Mohammed Umar Bago shortly after the state released its statement.

He said the Church had no record of any message asking schools in the area to shut down.

“I spoke with the governor,” he said.

“I was on a call with him when I saw the message and I told him we didn’t get any message. I don’t know how the SSA tried to send the message. We didn’t get it.”

He said the Diocese was still trying to gather information about the incident.

“For now we have no details yet. This is what we read. We haven’t gotten new information. How many pupils, how many teachers, we cannot say much now,” he added.

Yohanna’s remarks come after the Niger State Government issued a press release condemning the abduction. The state government said it had earlier ordered all boarding schools in parts of Niger North to be closed following “credible intelligence reports” that indicated an increased threat level in the zone.

According to the statement signed by Abubakar Usman, Secretary to the State Governor, the government had issued a directive to all schools in the area before the attack.

“The State Government had earlier issued a clear directive suspending all construction activities and ordering the temporary closure of all boarding schools within the affected zone as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.

The government said St. Mary’s School “proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government”, and described this as an action that “exposed pupils and staff to avoidable risk”.

The statement added that security agencies had launched a search-and-rescue operation and were working to establish the total number of abducted persons.

The attack on St. Mary’s took place in the early hours of Friday. Residents said armed men arrived between 2 am and 3 am and took an unconfirmed number of pupils and staff.

Families and local authorities are still checking attendance lists and dormitories to confirm the number of missing children.

Jaybuoy:
I believe the Diocese. Nigeria has too many bureaucratic bottlenecks that hinder efficiency from top to bottom.

Don't be surprised that the person tasked with delivering that message still has it on a table somewhere.