Fifty of the 303 students kidnapped from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday.
What happened in the kidnapping?
Armed men raided the Catholic boarding school in the village of Papiri in Niger State on Friday morning, abducting 303 children and 12 teachers.
Some 253 pupils remain in captivity, according to the Catholic bishop who heads the school.
Among them are 6-year-old children, local media has reported, citing parents.
In a statement, CAN chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school, said the pupils fled from their captors on Friday and Saturday.
Africa’s most populous country is currently under increasing scrutiny from US President Donald Trump, whose administration designated Nigeria as particular concern due to the killing of Christians by radical Islamists.
Pope calls for ‘immediate release’ of hostages
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday made “a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages.”
The pope spoke of his “deep sorrow, especially for the many young boys and girls kidnapped and for their anguished families,” at the end of the Angelus prayer.
School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Nigeria, and armed gangs often see schools as “strategic” targets to attract more attention.
At least 1,500 students have been seized in Nigeria since the infamous kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago. Many of the children were released only after ransoms were met.
Two killed in separate attack, 38 worshippers released
Friday’s Niger state attack came just four days after the abduction of 25 schoolchildren in neighboring Kebbi state’s Maga town, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.
Two people were killed in that attack, but the 38 worshippers who were abducted have since been rescued by security forces, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced on Sunday on X.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
