I Watched Helplessly as Gunmen Snatched my Son; Says Father after Nigerian School Kidnapping

The bishop said that no security agencies have been deployed in the community since the abductions.

Along with some other parents, Theo has been camping outside the school, angry with the government’s response.

“Our children were kidnapped but the government doesn’t seem to pay attention to it,” said Theo.

He said he was frustrated that the state governor had not visited the school and only went to a nearby community to speak to security agencies and local leaders.

“We have concluded that the government is not concerned about us – we feel like we are not part of the country, they have abandoned us.”

The pain being endured by the parents of those children who are still missing is all too evident.

“I am sad, my whole life is filled with sadness,” said a mother, whose son was among the children taken by the gunmen.

“He’s my only son, he’s my first-born, please help us,” she said.

Another parent, Lucas, told the BBC that two of his children had been abducted, but the youngest one, a six-year-old boy, was lucky and managed to avoid falling into the clutches of the kidnappers.

“When I saw him, I was so excited. I called him by name; he turned and ran to me. I hugged and embraced him,” he said.

The northern part of Niger where Papiri is located has recently become a hot spot for kidnappings for ransom.

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs, but to little effect.

The BBC team drove about 500km (310 miles) to Papiri from the Niger state’s capital, Minna and was advised several times not to take certain routes and, for periods, was escorted by police.

Many blame the crisis on the size of the state. In terms of landmass, Niger is the largest state in Nigeria, and larger than European countries like Denmark and the Netherlands.

It also has a lot of forests, which criminal gangs, referred to locally as bandits, use as camps and routes to connect to other states in Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries.

The abduction at the school was the third to hit Nigeria in a week.

Last Monday, more than 20 schoolgirls, who the BBC has been told are Muslim, were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi state, which borders Niger.

A church was also attacked further south in Kwara state, with two people killed and dozens of worshippers abducted.