Fifty students escape captivity in Nigeria, 253 remain
Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in Niger state in central Nigeria escaped captivity and are now with their families. School officials said they were providing assistance to some distraught families following one of the worst school kidnappings in Nigerian history.
The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria and owner of the school in Niger state.
In the statement, it was stated that a total of 253 school children and 12 teachers were still held by the kidnappers.
“We were able to detect this when we contacted some parents and decided to visit them,” Yohanna said.
Gunmen attacked St Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the remote Papiri community of Niger state, on Friday and seized it along with its students and teachers. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and authorities said local hunters as well as tactical teams were deployed to rescue the children.
It was not immediately clear where the children in Niger state were being held or how they managed to return home. Nigerian military and police did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.
“While we welcome the return of these 50 escaped children with a sigh of relief, I urge all of you to continue praying for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims,” Yohanna said. he said.
Niger state’s attack came four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in the town of Maga, 170 km away in neighboring Kebbi state.
Both states are located in Nigeria’s northern region, where dozens of armed gangs use kidnapping for ransom as a way to dominate remote communities with little government and security presence.
The satellite image shows that the Niger public school campus is connected to an adjacent primary school with more than 50 classrooms and dormitory buildings. It is located near the main road connecting the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.
School kidnappings have become the definition of insecurity in Africa’s most populous country, with armed gangs often viewing schools as “strategic” targets to attract more attention.
While Niger state hastily closed all schools after Friday’s attack, some federal colleges in conflict-ridden areas in the region were also closed by the Nigerian government.
