Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday (23 November).
But around 253 of them, along with 12 staff members and teachers, are still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school.
In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and Saturday. Parents rushed to the school in Niger state, to the west of the capital Abuja, after hearing that some children were free.
Amose Ibrahim was one of the parents who went to St. Mary's school to check if any of his three children had escaped.
"Unfortunately, they were not among the escapees," Ibrahim, whose youngest child is six years old, told Reuters by phone.
"As of now, many parents and their loved ones are roaming around the school."
In response to the kidnappings, Pope Leo XIV pleaded on Sunday for the immediate release of those who had been taken in one of the worst mass kidnappings ever recorded in Nigeria.
"I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages," the Pope said at the end of a mass in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
President Bola Tinubu ordered the hiring of 30,000 more police officers at a meeting with security chiefs on Sunday. He directed the removal of all police from VIP protection services to focus on core duties, especially in remote areas prone to attacks.
In a separate incident, Tinubu said Nigerian security forces on Sunday rescued 38 people who were abducted during a service at Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara state. At least two people died during the attack.
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Nigerian authorities says they've rescued a 100 children after gunmen abducted 303 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in Papiri on 21 November.
Nigeria has approved the payment of 185 billion naira ($128 million) to clear longstanding debts owed to gas producers, a move aimed at restoring confidence in the country’s energy market and improving electricity supply.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the country’s new Minister of Defence, marking a key move in his ongoing effort to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped 303 students and teachers at a Catholic school in the northwest on Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said, the latest in a spate of school attacks this week that has forced the government to shut 47 colleges.
The Oligarch’s Design is an investigative documentary exploring how financial power, political influence and carefully constructed narratives can shape conflict and public perception.
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