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

Authorities look for missing students and teachers aft 2 large incidents of kidnappings instrumentality spot wrong days.

At slightest 50 of the much than 300 students abducted by gunmen from a Catholic schoolhouse successful Nigeria person escaped their captors, a Christian radical tracking the incidental says.

The gunmen raided Saint Mary’s Catholic School successful north-central Nigeria’s Niger State connected Friday, taking 303 children and 12 teachers successful 1 of the country’s largest wide kidnappings.

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In a connection connected Sunday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the 50 pupils were harmless and had been reunited with their families aft they escaped betwixt Friday and Saturday.

“As overmuch arsenic we person the instrumentality of these 50 children that escaped with immoderate suspiration of relief, I impulse you each to proceed successful your prayers for the rescue and harmless instrumentality of the remaining victims,” CAN’s president successful Niger State, Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, said successful the statement.

(Al Jazeera)

The Catholic schoolhouse abduction came conscionable 4 days aft equipped men stormed a secondary school successful northwestern Nigeria, kidnapping 25 schoolgirls and sidesplitting the school’s vice-principal.

Monday’s onslaught took spot successful akin circumstances successful neighbouring Kebbi State’s Maga town, immoderate 170km (106 miles) away. At slightest 1 miss has since escaped and returned safely, but 24 others are inactive missing.

The individuality of the attackers remains unclear successful some cases, and nary radical has claimed work truthful far.

Regional authorities and information agencies person launched search-and-rescue operations successful surrounding forests and on flight routes, with police, subject and adjacent section hunters deployed to help.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called the abduction of children and their educators a “brutal and sedate usurpation of children’s rights” and urged their harmless and contiguous release.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened subject action against Nigeria implicit what helium has described arsenic targeted killings of the country’s Christians, an thought that has been welcomed by a fig of figures successful right-wing and Christian evangelical circles successful the US.

In a societal media station connected Friday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said helium met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and his squad a time earlier to sermon what Hegseth called “the horrific unit against Christians successful their country”.

Hegseth said his section is “working aggressively with Nigeria to extremity the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists”.

But the Nigerian authorities has rejected Washington’s narrative, and has countered by pointing retired that Muslims are the bulk of victims of attacks by equipped groups successful the astir populous African country.