Fifty of the 315 children kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria's Niger State on Friday have escaped. The Christian Association of Nigeria has confirmed that these children have been reunited with their families. In the meantime, a significant military-led search and rescue operation is currently underway to locate the remaining 265 children along with 12 teachers taken during the abduction.
Due to these alarming incidents, authorities in various Nigerian states have mandated the shutdown of schools following the mass abduction and another smaller hostage-taking incident in Kebbi State on Monday, resulting in 20 additional pupils being kidnapped from a boarding school.
In response to the escalating abductions, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the recruitment of an extra 30,000 police officers to strengthen security measures.
In another troubling incident, 38 individuals who were abducted from a church service in Kwara State last week were released on Sunday, as confirmed by the state governor, amid reports of two fatalities during the assault on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku.
The news of the children's escape brings considerable relief to families and to a nation grappling with a troubling string of school abductions in Nigeria's northwest region.
President Tinubu has also directed the redeployment of police personnel engaged in Very Important Persons (VIP) protection services to focus more on their core duties, particularly in remote areas prone to attacks.
A Christian group involved in the case reported that the pupils managed to escape between Friday and Saturday, demonstrating courage and determination in their bid for freedom. The students and teachers were taken from St Mary's School in Papiri, and reports indicate that the number of abducted exceeds 303 students and 12 teachers, which surpasses the 276 abducted during the infamous Chibok mass abduction of 2014.
Local police revealed that armed men stormed the school around 02:00 (01:00 GMT), leading to the abduction of students who were staying on the premises.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bongo has announced that all schools in the area would remain closed, indicating that this is not a time for a blame game. Pope Leo XIV also expressed his profound sadness regarding the abduction and urged authorities to act swiftly to resolve the situation.
Families have voiced their anguish as some have distressingly recounted hearing of their children’s kidnapping, highlighting the deep emotional toll this ongoing crisis has taken on the community. The military and local vigilantes are actively searching for the children in nearby forests and remote pathways believed to be used by the attackers.
It has also been reported that St Mary's School did not comply with an order to close its boarding facilities after intelligence alerts indicated an increased risk of attacks.
The frequent abductions for ransom by local criminal gangs known as bandits have become a pressing issue in Nigeria, with attempts to outlaw ransom payments having yielded minimal effectiveness in curtailing the operations of these criminal groups. Recent developments have also seen over 20 schoolgirls, thought to be Muslim, kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi State, further exacerbating the crisis. Subsequently, all secondary schools and colleges in the area have been ordered to close their facilities.
In light of these events, the Nigerian president has chosen to postpone foreign engagements, including attendance at this weekend's G20 summit in South Africa, to address these serious security concerns. The rising fears and tensions arise from claims made by some right-wing figures in the United States regarding the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, claims which the Nigerian government has categorically dismissed as gross misrepresentations of reality.
Due to these alarming incidents, authorities in various Nigerian states have mandated the shutdown of schools following the mass abduction and another smaller hostage-taking incident in Kebbi State on Monday, resulting in 20 additional pupils being kidnapped from a boarding school.
In response to the escalating abductions, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the recruitment of an extra 30,000 police officers to strengthen security measures.
In another troubling incident, 38 individuals who were abducted from a church service in Kwara State last week were released on Sunday, as confirmed by the state governor, amid reports of two fatalities during the assault on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku.
The news of the children's escape brings considerable relief to families and to a nation grappling with a troubling string of school abductions in Nigeria's northwest region.
President Tinubu has also directed the redeployment of police personnel engaged in Very Important Persons (VIP) protection services to focus more on their core duties, particularly in remote areas prone to attacks.
A Christian group involved in the case reported that the pupils managed to escape between Friday and Saturday, demonstrating courage and determination in their bid for freedom. The students and teachers were taken from St Mary's School in Papiri, and reports indicate that the number of abducted exceeds 303 students and 12 teachers, which surpasses the 276 abducted during the infamous Chibok mass abduction of 2014.
Local police revealed that armed men stormed the school around 02:00 (01:00 GMT), leading to the abduction of students who were staying on the premises.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bongo has announced that all schools in the area would remain closed, indicating that this is not a time for a blame game. Pope Leo XIV also expressed his profound sadness regarding the abduction and urged authorities to act swiftly to resolve the situation.
Families have voiced their anguish as some have distressingly recounted hearing of their children’s kidnapping, highlighting the deep emotional toll this ongoing crisis has taken on the community. The military and local vigilantes are actively searching for the children in nearby forests and remote pathways believed to be used by the attackers.
It has also been reported that St Mary's School did not comply with an order to close its boarding facilities after intelligence alerts indicated an increased risk of attacks.
The frequent abductions for ransom by local criminal gangs known as bandits have become a pressing issue in Nigeria, with attempts to outlaw ransom payments having yielded minimal effectiveness in curtailing the operations of these criminal groups. Recent developments have also seen over 20 schoolgirls, thought to be Muslim, kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi State, further exacerbating the crisis. Subsequently, all secondary schools and colleges in the area have been ordered to close their facilities.
In light of these events, the Nigerian president has chosen to postpone foreign engagements, including attendance at this weekend's G20 summit in South Africa, to address these serious security concerns. The rising fears and tensions arise from claims made by some right-wing figures in the United States regarding the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, claims which the Nigerian government has categorically dismissed as gross misrepresentations of reality.
