50 Out of 315 Schoolchildren Kidnapped In Niger State Have Escaped — CAN Confirms

Fifty of the more than 300 students abducted from a Catholic school in Niger State have managed to escape and reunite with their families, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed on Sunday. According to the group, the pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday.

The abduction occurred in the early hours of Friday when armed men stormed the school, taking 303 students and 12 teachers, surpassing the number of victims in the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abduction. Police reported the attackers arrived around 2:00 a.m. local time, targeting students residing in the boarding facilities. Security forces are currently combing nearby forests to rescue the remaining captives.

Following the incident, Niger State authorities ordered the immediate closure of all schools, citing the institution’s disregard for prior instructions to suspend boarding operations despite intelligence warnings. The school has not responded to the directive.

This attack is the third mass abduction in Nigeria in a single week. Earlier, over 20 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi State, and a church attack in Kwara State resulted in two deaths and 38 abductions. President Bola Tinubu has postponed foreign trips, including the G20 summit in South Africa, to focus on the country’s worsening security situation.

The spate of kidnappings has raised public alarm over armed gang activities, commonly referred to as banditry. Although ransom payments have been banned to discourage abductions, attacks persist. Some international observers suggest recent abductions target Christians, but the government maintains that terrorists attack indiscriminately Muslims, Christians, and non-religious individuals alike. Analysts note that much of the violence in northern and central Nigeria stems from resource conflicts rather than religious motives.