Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said Sunday, as Pope Leo appealed for them all to be immediately released.
The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday and have since been reunited with their parents, said CAN chairman Bulus Yohanna in a statement.
A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still in captivity, added Yohanna – a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school.
Pope Leo XIV has called for the immediate release of the remaining schoolchildren and staff of the school, saying at the end of a mass in St.Peter’s square on Sunday that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“I feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families,” the pontiff said. “I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release.”
'Wary' of sending children to school
Gunmen kidnapped students and teachers from St. Mary's school, a Catholic institution in Niger state’s remote Papiri community, on Friday.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions.
Blessing Jammeh's two children – an 18-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl – were abducted.
"My children and those of other parents were taken into the bush, without clothes or shoes. They are suffering outside. This situation hurts me so much," she told RFI. "Children are supposed to go to school. Since when should we be wary of sending our children to school?"
38 worshippers rescued
On Sunday, Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that the 38 worshippers seized when gunmen stormed a church service last week, killing two people, had been rescued.
"Thanks to the efforts of our security forces over the last few days, all the 38 worshippers abducted in Eruku, Kwara State have been rescued," Tinubu posted on his X account, referring to the attack that was recorded and broadcast online.
He said he was "equally happy" that some of the missing students from St Mary's had been recovered and was "closely monitoring" the security situation.
"I will not relent. Every Nigerian, in every state, has the right to safety – and under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people," he wrote.
Nigerians push back on Trump’s military threat over Christian killings
Christians and Muslims targeted
The attack on St Mary's is the latest in a spate of school attacks this week that has forced the government to shut 47 colleges.
It came four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state’s Maga town, which is 170 kilometres away
The kidnappings are mostly carried out by criminal gangs looking for ransom payments.
US President Donald Trump has claimed the abductions reflect “Christian persecution” in the West African country, but both Christians and Muslims are targeted. The attack in Kebbi was in a Muslim-majority town and local authorities say the children were all Muslim.
"We are told that the American government wants to stop these attacks, but for now, I don't understand why our children are being stolen from us," says Blessing Jammeh. "I try to be patient, to wait for God to help us. But how can I be happy when I can no longer see my children? I am suffering."
Nigeria is still scarred by the 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 girls by Boko Haram jihadists at Chibok in northeastern Borno state. Some of those girls are still missing.
(with newswires)
