Fifty students abducted from a Catholic school in Niger State on Friday have safely returned to their families after escaping, the Christian Association of Nigeria confirmed on Sunday.
According to CAN, armed bandits kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Private Catholic School in Minna, Niger State, on Friday.
The students, both boys and girls, included children as young as ten years old.
“The pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday and have reunited with their parents as they could not return to the school after they escaped,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for CAN’s Niger State chapter chairman, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna.
Atori added that 253 children — 250 students from St. Mary’s and three children of school staff members, along with 12 teachers, remain in captivity.
During his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday, Pope Leo appealed for the release of the students and teachers, urging “the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release.”
“I feel great pain, especially for the many young men and women who have been abducted and for their anguished families,” the pontiff said.
Friday’s kidnapping is the latest in a surge of abductions and attacks targeting vulnerable communities for ransom in northern Nigeria, prompting some federal and state-run schools in the region to temporarily close to prevent further incidents.
Earlier this week, gunmen attacked a church in neighboring Kwara State, killing at least two people and abducting several worshippers, including the pastor.
In northwestern Kebbi State, armed men kidnapped 25 female students from a government girls’ boarding school, killing the vice principal in the attack.
Nigeria continues to face religiously motivated violence and other conflicts fueled by ethnic tensions and disputes between farmers and herders over scarce land and water resources.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed outrage over alleged “mass slaughter” of Christians by Islamist insurgents, even threatening military intervention.
However, experts note that the situation is complex. Both Christians and Muslims, Nigeria’s two largest religious groups, have fallen victim to attacks by radical Islamist factions.
Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, met with Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Thursday to discuss the escalating violence.
“Under [Trump’s] leadership, [the Department of War] is working aggressively with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists,” Hegseth said on X.
