A mass abduction took place at Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School. Photograph: Christian Association of Nigeria/APMore than 300 children and 12 teachers have been abducted by gunmen during an attack on St Mary’s School in northcentral Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said. The kidnapping in Niger state’s remote Papiri community happened four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighbouring Kebbi state’s Maga town, 170km (106 miles) away. Organised atrocities against civilians punctuate Nigeria’s long history of ethnic discord, and Muslims as well as Christians have been victims. But the notion of Christians being singled out for persecution eventually took root in right-wing circles.
