Fifty of the 303 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 said Sunday, as the pope called for the immediate release of those still missing.
A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still being held by the kidnappers.
Nigeria has been reeling from a spate of attacks in the past weeks, raising tension in the West African nation grappling with widespread insecurity and religious violence.
