Hope in Nigeria as 50 schoolchildren escape captivity but 253 more still held
50 of 303 schoolchildren abducted from school in Nigeria escape captivity
- 50 of 303 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary's School in Niger state, Nigeria, have managed to escape captivity.
- The children, aged between 10 and 18, made individual escapes between Friday and Saturday after gunmen attacked the Catholic institution.
- 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers remain held by their kidnappers, with no group yet claiming responsibility for the abductions.
- Authorities have deployed tactical squads and local hunters to rescue the remaining victims, and Niger state has closed all schools in response to the attack.
- This incident is part of a wider trend of school kidnappings by armed gangs in northern Nigeria, with a similar abduction of 25 children occurring in Kebbi state four days prior.