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Fifty of the 303 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school on Friday have escaped and are now reunited with their families, officials said Sunday, as schools across Niger remain closed following the attack.
The students, ages 10 to 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 school’s proprietor.
A total of 253 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s School are still being held, Yohanna said, adding: “We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents.”
Officials did not provide further details about how the children escaped or where the remaining students and teachers were being held.
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Pope Leo XIV called for the immediate release of the children and school staff, saying at the end of a mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“I feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families,” the pontiff said. “I 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.”
No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, The Associated Press reported. The outlet added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.
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Niger State quickly shut down all schools after Friday’s attack, while the Nigerian government also closed several federal colleges in conflict-prone areas across the region.
The attack at St. Mary’s came just four days after armed men kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Kebbi State, killing at least one staff member. The search for the missing girls is ongoing.
Meanwhile, 38 worshippers kidnapped during a deadly church attack in central Nigeria’s Kwara State have been freed, Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said Sunday. Gunmen had attacked the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku town on Tuesday, killing two and taking others hostage. President Bola Tinubu credited “the efforts of security agencies” for securing their release but offered no further details.
Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S.’s claims.
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“I’m really angry about it,” the president told Fox News Radio on Friday. “What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.”
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Anders Hagstrom, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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