Pope calls on kidnappers in Nigeria to free 265 students and teachers after 50 pupils escape

ABUJA Nigeria AP Fifty of the schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria s Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families the school authority declared Sunday bringing relief to particular distraught families after one of the largest school abductions in Nigeria s history The schoolchildren aged between and escaped individually between Friday and Saturday according to the Majority of Rev Bulus Dauwa Yohanna chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school The pope on Sunday called for the immediate release of the remaining schoolchildren and staff A total of schoolchildren and teachers are still being held by the kidnappers Yohanna disclosed in a comment We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit various parents he added The pupils and students were seized together with their teachers by gunmen who attacked the St Mary s School a Catholic institution in Niger state s remote Papiri group on Friday No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions and Nigerian executives have not shared any update on rescue efforts It was not instantly 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 As much as we receive the return of these children that escaped with specific sigh of relief I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining casualties the Yohanna announced 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 s square on Sunday that he was deeply saddened by the event I feel great sorrow especially for the numerous girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families the pontiff revealed I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent administration to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa s greater part populous nation and armed gangs often see schools as strategic targets to draw more attention At least students have been seized in Nigeria since the famous kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago and several of the children were distributed only after ransoms were paid The Niger state attack happened four days after schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state s Maga town which is kilometers 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 regime and safeguard presence Niger state hurriedly closed down all schools after Friday s attack while chosen federal colleges in conflict hotspots across the region were also closed by the Nigerian regime The kidnappings are happening on the backdrop of U S President Donald Trump s asserts of Christian persecution in the West African country Attacks in Nigeria affect both Christians and Muslims The school attack earlier this week in Kebbi state was in a Muslim-majority town Arrests are rare and ransom payments are common in a large number of of the hot spots in northern Nigeria Confidence McHarry a safety analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence noted 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 fuelling these attacks - Associated Press journalist Francesco Sportelli in Rome contributed