Fifty Nigerian schoolchildren who were abducted last week from a Catholic school in Niger state have escaped from captivity and returned home, according to school authorities. The remaining 253 children and 12 teachers are still missing in one of the country’s largest mass abductions.
The escapees, aged between 10 and 18, returned individually between Friday and Saturday, Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and proprietor of the school, told the media in a statement Sunday.
The students had been taken during a Friday raid on St. Mary’s School in the rural Papiri community, where heavily armed gunmen stormed the premises and seized students and staff members.
“We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna said, according to CBS News. “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.”
It is still unknown where the remaining hostages are being held, and Nigerian police and military officials have not disclosed details of the ongoing rescue operation. No group has claimed responsibility for the mass abduction.
The kidnappings prompted the Niger state government to close all schools beginning Saturday.
Pope Leo XIV addressed the incident during his Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Square, expressing sorrow and calling for the immediate release of all hostages.
The attack in Niger state occurred just four days after 25 students were abducted in a similar fashion from Maga, a town in neighboring Kebbi state, about 106 miles away. Both incidents are part of a wave of school abductions in Nigeria’s northern region, where kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative tool for armed groups that dominate remote areas with limited state presence.
President Bola Tinubu said in a statement that his administration remains committed to the safe return of every kidnapped individual. “Let me be clear: I will not relent. Every Nigerian, in every state, has the right to safety — and under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people,” he said.
The United States-based watchdog organization Open Doors reports that more than 20,000 people were abducted from 2019 to 2023 in Nigeria, warning that “[k]idnapping is big business, funding Islamist expansion and tied to active terrorist groups.”
“Many of these bandits have been known to target anyone who will pay a price — but they have learned that Christians, and specifically religious leaders, can fetch a higher ransom,” Open Doors wrote in an October report. “This makes the Christians and religious leaders specifically vulnerable targets.”
Tens of thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria in the last decade, and thousands are killed each year, reports suggest. Open Doors has reported for several years that more Christians are murdered in Nigeria each year than in any other country combined.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., introduced a congressional resolution condemning what he called the violent persecution of Christians in Nigeria and urging strong U.S. action to hold perpetrators accountable. Backed by at least 20 House Republicans, the measure followed President Donald Trump’s recent announcement designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and demands that Nigerian authorities be pressed to end attacks by armed groups, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and Fulani militants.
The resolution called for the repeal of blasphemy laws in Nigeria, the release of individuals imprisoned for religious offenses and the safe return of displaced Christians to their communities. It also advocated for humanitarian aid to be delivered directly to victims through faith-based and nongovernmental organizations.
