ABUJA, Nigeria — Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, bringing relief to some distraught families after one of the largest school abductions in Nigeria’s history.
The children, aged 10 to 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school. He said a total of 253 pupils and students and 12 teachers remain held by the kidnappers.
“We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna said.
The pupils and teachers were seized by gunmen who attacked St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the remote Papiri community, on Friday. No group has claimed responsibility. Authorities say tactical squads and local hunters have been deployed in the search and rescue operation.
It was not immediately clear where the remaining captives are being held or how the 50 children managed to return home. Nigeria’s military and police did not immediately respond to an Associated Press inquiry.
“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,” Yohanna said.
The Niger state abduction came four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in Kebbi state’s Maga town, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.
Both states are in a northern region where dozens of armed gangs use kidnapping for ransom to dominate remote communities with limited government and security presence.
Satellite images show the Niger state school compound is attached to an adjoining primary school, with more than 50 classroom and dormitory buildings. It sits near a major road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.
School kidnappings have become a defining aspect of insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, with armed gangs often targeting schools to draw attention. Niger state ordered all schools closed after Friday’s attack, and some federal colleges in conflict hotspots across the region were also closed by the federal government.
