Students Kidnapped in Nigeria: Some Escape
Officials reported on Sunday that 50 out of the 303 students who were kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria managed to escape and have reunited with their families. Following the attacks, schools across Niger remain closed.
The students, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually over the weekend, as shared by the school’s owner, Pastor Bulusu Dawwa Yohana Mosto, who is also the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger State. Currently, 253 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School are still in captivity. “We were able to confirm this by reaching out to some of their parents,” he added.
Details are scarce regarding how the children managed to flee or the whereabouts of those still held captive.
Pope Leo XIV expressed his deep sorrow over the situation after Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He urged the immediate release of the abducted children and staff, stating, “I feel great sadness, especially for the many abducted girls and boys and their suffering families. I sincerely appeal for their immediate release and call on the relevant authorities to take timely action.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Nonetheless, tactical units and local hunters are reportedly engaged in efforts to rescue the remaining students.
In response to the attack, Niger state has shut down all schools, and several federal universities in vulnerable areas of the region have also closed. This incident comes just days after gunmen abducted 25 female students from a boarding school in Kebbi state, where at least one teacher was killed. The search for those missing girls is ongoing.
In another recent incident, 38 worshipers who had been kidnapped during an attack on a church in central Nigeria’s Kwara state have been freed. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq attributed their release to “the efforts of the security agencies,” though he provided no additional details.
A troubling pattern of violence against Christians and their communities in Nigeria has led to the U.S. categorizing the country as a “country of particular concern,” although the Nigerian government disputes this claim. In a recent statement on Fox News Radio, President Trump remarked, “What is happening in Nigeria is shameful,” expressing his anger about the ongoing violence.
