Gunmen Abduct 23 Pupils from Kogi School — 15 Rescued, 8 Still Missing

Suspected gunmen stormed a school and orphanage facility in Lokoja on Saturday night, abducting 23 pupils and the wife of the proprietor in an attack that has sent fresh shockwaves through Kogi State and reignited concerns about school safety across Nigeria.

The incident occurred at the Dahallukitab Group of School, located in the Zariagi area near the Kabba Junction axis of Lokoja. Security agencies, led by the Nigeria Police Force, responded and rescued 15 of the abducted pupils. As of Monday, eight pupils and the proprietor’s wife remain missing.

Kogi State Commissioner for Information Kingsley Fanwo confirmed the attack and added a troubling dimension: the school was unregistered, operating in a remote, bushy area without the knowledge of relevant authorities or security agencies.

Government Raises Alarm Over Unregistered Schools

The Kogi State Government used the incident to issue a warning about the growing number of unregistered schools in isolated locations. Officials argued that off-grid facilities place children in serious danger — remote settings make them hard to monitor and easy targets for criminal elements.

Authorities are calling on communities to report unregistered schools and warned proprietors that operating outside regulatory frameworks exposes pupils to avoidable risks. Search operations are ongoing to locate the eight missing children and the woman still in captivity.

For many Nigerians, the attack stirs painful echoes of the 2014 Chibok abductions. The scale is different, but the pattern — gunmen targeting schools in remote areas — is disturbingly familiar. Rights groups and education advocates are again calling on federal and state governments to deploy dedicated security around schools in high-risk zones.

The attack is the latest in a string of security incidents hitting Kogi and the broader north-central region, where banditry and kidnapping have become a recurring threat to communities and schools alike.

Sources: Arise TV, Kogi State Government, Peoples Gazette