On Mass kidnapping of children in Nigeria, including from St Mary's Catholic School in Papiri

B100588/2025

European Parliament resolution on Mass kidnapping of children in Nigeria, including from St Mary's Catholic School in Papiri

(2025/3029(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure;

whereas on 21 November, armed groups abducted more than 300 students and 12 staff members from St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State;

whereas on 18 November 2025, 25 children from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi state were kidnapped;

whereas the security situation in Nigeria continuously deteriorates, with mass abductions of civilians belonging to all communities, carried out by armed networks and extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the North East; whereas on 26 November 2025, Nigeria declared a national security emergency;

whereas these repeated attacks targeting children have led to the closure of numerous schools in northern Nigeria, leaving millions of children without safe access to education;

whereas Nigerian state security forces lack resources and are frequently unable to guarantee protection to vulnerable institutions and civilians;

whereas numerous serious crimes in northern and south-eastern Nigeria lack independent investigations, prosecutions or effective judicial follow-up;

Whereas the international response remains fragmented despite the growing scale of the security crisis in the region;

Strongly condemns the abduction of children and the deliberate targeting of schools in northern Nigeria in recent violent attacks;

Further condemns all acts of violence conducted by armed and extremist groups in the region, and regrets the government’s failure to protect vulnerable communities and address the root causes of extremism and banditry;

Urges those responsible for the kidnappings to immediately release all children and teachers that currently held captive;

Regrets that the shutdown of 47 secondary schools has disrupted learning for thousands of children, depriving them of their fundamental right to education; Calls on the authorities to provide alternative learning opportunities to ensure continuity in the education of all affected students;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities to intensify efforts securing the release of all civilians kidnapped and held by armed groups, and to take action to better protect schools and vulnerable communities from further attacks;

Urges the government of Nigeria to strengthen measures that could prevent further atrocities, including early warning systems;

Recognises that desertification leads to conflicts related to access to arable land, which fuels instability; Underlines the need for reforms in this area;

Urges the authorities to ensure independent and effective investigations into abductions and related attacks and to prosecute and ensure judicial follow-up of those responsible in line with international human rights and rule of law;

Encourages Nigerian authorities to deepen, and the EU to support Nigeria in its cooperation with ECOWAS and the Multinational Joint Task Force; Calls on the Commission to ramp up its technical and capacity-building assistance to Nigeria, under NDICI–Global Europe;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Government and Parliament of Nigeria.