ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) 鈥� Fifty of the in north-central Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, as the pope called for the immediate release of those still missing.
The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school.
A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still being held by the kidnappers, Yohanna said in a statement. 鈥淲e were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, 38 worshippers in central 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 Kwara state have regained their freedom, Kwara Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said in a statement.
Gunmen had attacked the Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara鈥檚 Eruku town on Tuesday, killing two people and taking others hostage. 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 President Bola Tinubu, in a separate statement, attributed the freedom of the worshippers to 鈥渢he efforts of security agencies鈥� without giving further details.
Nigeria has been reeling from a spate of attacks in the past weeks, raising tension in the West African nation grappling with widespread insecurity.
Five officers were also killed in 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 northeast region after gunmen ambushed a tactical team responding to a farmer-herder conflict, police said on Sunday. Two other police officers sustained injuries.
The ambush occurred on Saturday in Sabon Sara village located in the Darazo area of Bauchi state, police spokesperson Ahmed Muhammed Wakil said in a statement.
Pope 鈥榙eeply saddened鈥�
The Niger state pupils and students were seized together with their teachers by gunmen who attacked the St. Mary鈥檚 School, a Catholic institution in Niger state鈥檚 remote Papiri community, on Friday.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions and Nigerian authorities have not shared any update on rescue efforts. It was not immediately clear where the Niger state children were being held or how they managed to return home.
The Niger state school is located near a major road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa, and is in a region of Nigeria where armed gangs often operate out of vast forests that connect different states and conflict hot spots.
鈥淎s 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,鈥� Yohanna said.
Pope Leo XIV called for the immediate release of the schoolchildren and staff of the school, saying at the end of a mass in St. Peter鈥檚 square on Sunday that he was 鈥渄eeply saddened鈥� by the incident.
鈥淚 feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families,鈥� the pontiff said. 鈥淚 make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release.鈥�
Kidnapping for ransom
have come to define insecurity in Africa鈥檚 most populous nation, and armed gangs often see schools as 鈥渟trategic鈥� targets to draw more attention. have been seized in Nigeria since the famous kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago, and many of the children were released only after ransoms were paid.
The Niger state attack happened four days after in similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state鈥檚 Maga town, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.
Both states are in a northern region of Nigeria where dozens of armed gangs have used kidnapping for ransom as one way of dominating remote communities with little government and security presence.
Niger state hurriedly closed down all schools after Friday鈥檚 attack, while some federal colleges in conflict hot spots across the region were also closed by the Nigerian government.
‘I will not relent’
The kidnappings are happening as U.S. President Donald Trump has made claims of 鈥淐hristian persecution鈥� in the West African country. Attacks in Nigeria . The school attack earlier this week in Kebbi state was in a Muslim-majority town.
Arrests are rare and ransom payments are common in many of the hot spots in northern Nigeria.
Confidence McHarry, a security analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence, said that while there’s little evidence that Trump’s comments might have inspired the gunmen to launch more attacks in the hope that more attention would bring higher ransoms, “the absence of consequences is what is fueling these attacks.”
In a statement welcoming the freedom of some of those kidnapped in Niger state and Kebbi state, Tinubu said his government will not relent until every hostage is freed.
鈥淓very Nigerian, in every state, has the right to safety,” he said. 鈥淎nd under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people.鈥�
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Associated Press journalist Francesco Sportelli in Rome and Dyepkazah Shibayan in Abuja contributed.
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