Terrorists have attacked St Mary’s School, a Catholic-owned institution in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted an unconfirmed number of students and staff.

The attack took place in the early hours of Friday.

Local officials said the school was compiling its records and could not yet determine the number of people taken.

A source in one of the Catholic churches in Niger State confirmed the incident, stating that the church would issue an official statement after completing its investigation.

The Head of Department for Disaster and Relief in Agwara Local Government, Ahmed Rofia, also confirmed the attack.

He said the gunmen invaded the school between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and that authorities were still assessing the scale of the abductions.

Spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun said he was aware of the enquiry and would provide details when available. “I know what you are calling. I will get the details and get back to you,” he said.

When pressed to confirm the incident, he added, “I need to get the details before. I will get back to you. Just give me time.

”Papiri is about 70 kilometers from Babana axis, where Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, announced its presence in July.

The abduction happened less than a week after a similar abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State.Papiri town is one of the 10 political wards in the Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.

A source in Rofia, a town 30 kilometres away from where the incident happened, also confirmed the incident.

The source whose name has been withheld for security reasons said residents of the town estimated that the terrorists came with 60 motorcycles and a van.

“They packed the students and their teachers in the van and went away with them,” he said.

Bello Gidi, the spokesperson for Agwara Local Government Chairperson Ilyasu Zakari, confirmed the attack, stating that efforts are ongoing to gather “factual details of the incident.

”The raid occurred days after 25 students were kidnapped in Maga, Kebbi State, adding to rising concern over attacks on schools in the region.

……Kanu’s Lawyer Ejimakor reveals next move after court judgment

Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team has vowed to appeal his life imprisonment sentence, insisting that the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court “does not hold water.

”Speaking to reporters shortly after the verdict, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, a consultant on the case, said they would take the matter to the Court of Appeal.

Ejimakor questioned the basis of the conviction, arguing that a man cannot be jailed for mere spoken words.

“What kind of precedent is being laid here? We are heading to the Court of Appeal,” he said.

“The Court of Appeal is the next forum in this country that sits as a jury. We will approach the justices to review what happened today, and we are confident they will see this as a travesty of justice.

”He added that if the Court of Appeal rules against them, they would proceed to the Supreme Court.

“Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted. The decision will be overturned,” he said.Ejimakor criticised the ruling as inconsistent with the evidence presented.

“This is the only day I have witnessed a man being convicted for mere pronouncements, for what he said, not for any act he committed.

“The sentence is overbroad, cruel, and unusual. How can someone be convicted for a broadcast from a location that was never named, without linking it to any act of violence or terrorism?,” he questioned.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment.

The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, handed down the sentence on counts one, four, five, and six, opting for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty.

The court said it was satisfied that Kanu made series of broadcasts to incite violence and killings, in furtherance of his separatist agitation for Biafra.

Trial Justice James Omotosho based his decision on what he described as “uncontroverted evidence” that was adduced before the court by the prosecution.