Christian group in Nigeria says 50 students abducted by gunmen have escaped

At least 50 of the more than 300 students abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria have escaped their captors, a Christian group tracking the incident says.

The gunmen raided Saint Mary’s Catholic School in north-central Nigeria’s Niger State on Friday, taking 303 children and 12 teachers in one of the country’s largest mass kidnappings.

In a statement on Sunday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the 50 pupils were safe and had been reunited with their families after they escaped between Friday and Saturday.

“As 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,” CAN’s chairman in Niger State, Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, said in the statement.

The Catholic school abduction came just four days after armed men stormed a secondary school in northwestern Nigeria, kidnapping 25 schoolgirls and killing the school’s vice-principal.

Monday’s attack took place in similar circumstances in neighbouring Kebbi State’s Maga town, some 170km (106 miles) away. At least one girl has since escaped and returned safely, but 24 others are still missing.

The identity of the attackers remains unclear in both cases, and no group has claimed responsibility so far.

Regional authorities and security agencies have launched search-and-rescue operations in surrounding forests and along escape routes, with police, military and even local hunters deployed to help.