A father of three children kidnapped from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, has died from a heart attack caused by emotional stress.
Rev. John Hayab, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern Region and Federal Capital Territory, confirmed the tragic news on Tuesday. He said Mr. Anthony passed away just hours after his three children were abducted.
Hayab said, “One of the parents of the abducted children from the school died yesterday of a heart attack. Mr Anthony died of a heart attack following the abduction of his 3 children.”
The cleric warned that people should not misinterpret such statements. “People don’t understand that when you tell it as it is, you’re not speaking against anybody. You are only trying to state the problem,” he said.
Rev. Hayab added that the parents and school officials are still too shocked to speak to the media. “The pains, the trauma, are still very fresh. We tried speaking to the parents today, and they were scared of speaking to us,” he said. Attempts to contact the families again ended without any response.
Despite the tragedy, the school administration reported a small relief as fifty pupils managed to escape from the abductors’ forest hideout. The school’s proprietor, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed the children’s safe return after visiting their homes.
He said, “As much as we receive the return of these 50 children that escaped with some sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims. For the records, 251 primary pupils; 14 secondary students; 12 teachers are still in the custody of the abductors.”
The school also clarified the situation before the attack. “In the primary section, out of the 430 pupils, 377 are boarders; 53 are non-boarders. Aside the 50 that escaped, 141 were not carried away. As it stands now, 236 pupils, 3 staff children, 14 students, making a total 253, including 12 staff, are still with their abductors,” the statement read.
