More than 300 students were seized in an armed raid on St. Mary’s Catholic School on Friday, surpassing the 2014 Boko Haram Chibok abduction
At least 50 of the more than 300 children abducted from a Catholic School in north-central Nigeria on Friday have escaped their captors, according to a Christian association in the West African country.
The pupils, aged between 10 and 18, fled between Friday and Saturday and have reunited with their families, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said in a statement on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Nigerian police reported that armed bandits invaded St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, at about 2:00am local time on Friday and kidnapped “a yet to be ascertained number of students from the school’s hostel.”
CAN, however, said the gunmen seized 315 people in total, including 303 students and 12 teachers. According to the association, 253 of the pupils and all 12 staff members remain in captivity.
“Currently, aside the 50 pupils that escaped and have returned home, we have 141 pupils who were not carried away,” Niger State CAN chairman, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, said in a statement on Sunday. Police said a joint military-led search and rescue operation is under way.
The latest abduction surpasses the 276 students taken in the 2014 Chibok school raid by Boko Haram and comes amid a string of attacks on schools and churches.
Days earlier, 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a boarding school in Maga, Kebbi State, in an assault that left two staff members dead. Last week, two people were killed when gunmen attacked the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku town, Kwara State. Local officials said 38 churchgoers abducted in that raid were rescued on Sunday.
The government has ordered schools in the affected areas to temporarily close.
The attacks follow claims by US politicians that Islamic insurgents are targeting Christians in Nigeria, with President Donald Trump threatening to authorize a military operation if the country fails to protect Christian communities. Nigeria’s government has rejected the framing of religious genocide and insists violence affects citizens of all faiths.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV voiced “deep sorrow” over the abductions and demanded that “the hostages be released immediately,” urging authorities to act “appropriately and swiftly” to secure their freedom.
