Mass kidnapping in Nigeria: 300 abducted, 50 escaped

ABUJA (Nigeria): At least 50 of the more than 300 students abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria have managed to escape, Al Jazeera reported, citing a Christian group’s statement following the incident closely.

Armed men stormed Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State last Friday, abducting 303 children and 12 teachers in what has become one of Nigeria’s biggest mass kidnappings in recent years.

In a statement on Sunday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the 50 students got away from their captors between Friday and Saturday. The organisation confirmed that all of them are now safe and back with their families.

FAITH UNDER FIRE: Gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Nigeria, kidnapping dozens of students in the latest attack targeting Christians pic.twitter.com/U6llyBMdq5

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“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”, CAN’s chairman in Niger State, Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, said in the statement.

Last Friday’s abduction happened just four days after another attack on a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi State’s Maga town, about 170 km (106 miles) away. In that incident, gunmen kidnapped 25 schoolgirls and killed the school’s vice-principal, as per Al Jazeera.

Authorities say at least one of those girls has since escaped and returned home safely, but 24 remain missing. The identities of the attackers in both cases remain unknown, and no group has claimed responsibility so far.

Regional authorities and security agencies have launched search-and-rescue operations in surrounding forests and along escape routes, with police, military and even local hunters deployed to help, according to Al Jazeera.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called the abduction of children and their educators a “brutal and grave violation of children’s rights” and urged their safe and immediate release.

United States President Donald Trump has warned that Washington could take military action against Nigeria, claiming the country’s Christians are being deliberately targeted and killed. His remarks have drawn support from several voices in right-wing and evangelical Christian circles in the US.

In a social media post on Friday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said he met Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and his team a day earlier. He said their talks focused on what he described as “the horrific violence against Christians in their country.” (ANI)