At least 36 children and a staff member are missing after being kidnapped by gunmen from a school in Nigeria’s northeast, the third such mass school abduction since May in Africa’s most populous country.
Here are some of the worst of recent years:
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
June 29, 2026 – Gunmen burst into a secondary school in Borno state and abducted students sitting exams. Authorities said eight had been rescued.
May 2026 – Armed men kidnapped at least 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers in the southwestern Oyo state, killing one teacher in captivity and wounding security personnel during a rescue attempt. The children and teachers remain in captivity.
May 2026 – Suspected militants abducted 42 students from a primary and junior secondary school in Borno. They remain missing.
November 2025 – Gunmen took 12 staff members from a Catholic school in Niger State. The children and staff regained their freedom after a month.
November 2025 – In Kebbi state, gunmen killed the vice principal and took 25 students. The girls were later released.
March 2024 – Gunmen seized more than in Kaduna state. The government denied paying a ransom.
July 2021 – About were kidnapped when armed men raided a Baptist school in Kaduna state. The students were released in batches after ransom payments.
May 2021 – Gunmen abducted from an Islamic school in Niger state. Six of the pupils died in captivity, 15 escaped, and the rest were released after three months.
February 2021 – At least 279 girls were kidnapped by gunmen from a government school in Zamfara state and force-marched into a forest. They were released after a few days, during which they were beaten.
December 2020 – Armed men abducted from a boarding school in northern Katsina state. The Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram claimed responsibility before the students were freed by Nigerian security forces a week later.
Back in April 2014, Boko Haram’s abduction of 276 girls from a government school in Borno’s Chibok brought such kidnappings to international attention and prompted the launch of the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign. At least 89 girls remain unaccounted for, according to the non-profit Murtala Muhammed Foundation.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.