NEWS & POLITICS
Fifty children escape after mass kidnapping at Nigerian Catholic School; 253 pupils still missing
Fifty of the 303 students kidnapped by armed assailants from a Catholic boarding school in north-central Nigeria have escaped captivity and reunited with their families, school authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Michael Oduor
KEBBI STATE, Nigeria — November 23, 2025 (Running Africa) — Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohana, proprietor of the school, said the children, aged between 10 and 18, fled from their captors in Niger State between Friday and Saturday. Their return offers a rare moment of relief after yet another devastating attack on Nigeria’s education system.
The gunmen stormed the school last Monday, abducting hundreds of pupils and teachers and killing one staff member during the raid. President Bola Tinubu has since ordered a large-scale military search operation and called for the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers to strengthen security in the region. No arrests have been made so far.
Authorities say 253 students and 12 teachers remain missing, while several schools across Niger and neighboring Kebbi State have closed following a separate kidnapping in which 25 girls were taken from another boarding school.
Pope Francis calls for Immediate Release of Hostages
Pope Francis expressed deep sorrow over the mass abductions, urging the captors to release all hostages without delay.
"I feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families," he said. "I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release."
Political Tensions Rise as Trump Claims Christian Persecution
The kidnapping comes amid controversial remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently accused Nigeria of widespread persecution of Christians. Nigerian officials rejected the claims, stressing that both Christian and Muslim communities have been targeted by armed groups. The Kebbi incident, they noted, occurred at a predominantly Muslim institution.
Kidnappings for ransom remain widespread across northern Nigeria, where armed gangs — often referred to locally as bandits — frequently operate with impunity and are seldom prosecuted.
