Fifty children abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria have managed to escape, a Christian group said on Sunday. The escape comes after gunmen stormed St Mary’s school in Niger state on Friday, kidnapping more than 300 students and a dozen teachers in one of the country’s biggest mass abductions.
Fifty of the more than 300 children abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria have escaped their captors, a Christian group said on Sunday.
Gunmen stormed St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state on Friday, seizing 303 children and 12 teachers in one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings. The attack came just days after armed men raided a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state and abducted 25 girls.
“We have received some good news as fifty pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents,” the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said in a statement, noting that the children fled between Friday and Saturday.
The kidnapped boys and girls — aged eight to 18 — represent nearly half of St Mary’s student body of over 600. According to CAN, 251 primary school pupils, 14 secondary school students and 12 teachers remain in captivity. The Nigerian government has yet to comment on the figures.
“As much as we receive the return of these 50 children that escaped with some sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims,” said CAN’s Niger State chairman, Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who also owns the school.
The surge in attacks has heightened security fears in Africa’s most populous nation, prompting widespread school closures. Since the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Chibok more than a decade ago, Nigeria has faced recurrent mass kidnappings, largely carried out by criminal gangs seeking ransom. Armed groups often target remote boarding schools with minimal security, and most captives are released after negotiations.
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