Gunmen abduct 23 pupils from illegal Nigerian orphanage, 15 rescued

Gunmen raided an unregistered orphanage and school in Lokoja, Kogi State, taking 23 pupils and the wife of the proprietor before security forces rescued 15 of the children. The attack at Dahallukitab Group of Schools in the Zariagi area, along the Kabba Junction axis, has sharpened scrutiny of how such a facility was able to operate in a high-risk part of north-central Nigeria without formal registration.

Kogi State commissioner Kingsley Femi Fanwo said the school was operating illegally and described the attack as unfortunate and preventable. He said security agencies, working with other operatives, moved quickly after receiving the report. By the time officials briefed the public, eight children were still being held. A later local report said seven minors remained missing, reflecting the confusion that can follow the first hours of a mass abduction.

The security response was led by the Nigeria Police Force with support from other agencies. No group claimed responsibility and the attackers’ identities were unknown. The assault reportedly took place late on Sunday, April 26, 2026, and it again exposed the vulnerability of schools and informal care facilities in parts of Nigeria where armed groups and criminal gangs exploit weak surveillance, poor regulation and limited state presence.

The case also highlights a deeper protection gap for children. In Nigeria, the word pupils generally refers to kindergarten or primary school-age children, usually up to age 12, which makes the abduction especially alarming. The fact that an illegal orphanage and school was functioning in Lokoja raises hard questions about oversight, licensing and the unmet social need that such institutions often fill in communities where families may have few alternatives.

The attack fits a grim national pattern that has persisted since Boko Haram’s 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok. Human Rights Watch has said more than 1,600 children have been abducted or kidnapped across northern Nigeria since then, citing Save the Children. Amnesty International said in 2024 that there had been at least 17 mass abductions involving at least 1,700 children since 2014. UNICEF has also warned that children in conflict-affected areas continue to face abduction, forced recruitment, killing and injury.

For Kogi and for Nigeria more broadly, the rescue of 15 pupils will bring some relief. But the fact that eight children remained missing after the operation, and that the proprietor’s wife was also taken, underlines how mass abductions remain possible despite years of security crackdowns.