Mass school kidnappings in Nigeria in recent years

LAGOS, July 1 - 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:

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 303 pupils and 12 staff members from a Catholic school in Niger state. The children and staff regained their freedom after a month.

November 2025 - Gunmen attacked a government girls' boarding school in Kebbi state, killing the vice principal and taking 25 students. The girls were later released.

March 2024 - Gunmen seized more than 200 students and staff in Kaduna state. The students were rescued after two weeks. The government denied paying a ransom.

July 2021 - About 150 students 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 136 students 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 and threatened with being shot.

December 2020 - Armed men abducted 344 boys from a boarding school in the 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. REUTERS