Fifty students abducted on Friday from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria have successfully escaped and returned to their families, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced on Sunday.
Armed robbers on Friday abducted 303 children and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Private Catholic School in the country’s north-central Niger state, CAN news agency reported. The students are both male and female, some as young as 10 years old.
“The students fled between Friday and Saturday and were reunited with their parents as they were unable to return to the school after escaping,” said Spokesman Most, chairman of CAN’s Niger state chapter. pastor
Brus Dawwa Johanna and Daniel Atli said in a statement:
Atli said 253 children and 12 teachers, including 250 students and three children of school staff, remain in custody.
In his weekly homily during Sunday Angelus Prayer, Pope Leo appealed for the release of the students and teachers and called for “the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release.”
“I feel great pain, especially for the many young men and women who were abducted and their suffering families,” he said.
Friday’s abduction is just the latest in a series of attacks by armed groups targeting vulnerable civilians and orchestrating mass abductions for ransom. In response, some federal and state schools in northern Nigeria were temporarily closed to prevent further attacks.
Earlier this week, gunmen attacked a church in neighboring Kwara state. At least two people were killed and several believers, including a pastor, were abducted.
Armed men attacked a public girls’ boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state and kidnapped 25 girls. The school’s vice principal was shot and killed in the attack.
The country also faces religiously motivated attacks and other violent conflicts stemming from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as conflicts between farmers and herders over limited access to land and water resources.
US President Donald Trump has frequently expressed anger over the alleged “genocide” of Christians by Islamic militants, and has vowed to take military action to protect Christians.
However, the reality on the ground is more complex and nuanced. Experts and analysts say both Christians and Muslims, the two largest religious groups in Africa’s most populous country, are falling victim to attacks by Islamic extremists.
Army Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu on Thursday to discuss the violence in the West African country.
“Under[Trump’s]leadership,[the Department of the Army]is actively working with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists,” Hegseth told X.
