Nigerian school kidnapping: 50 of 303 schoolchildren escape abductors, reunite with families

A man walks past belongings at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community, Nigeria, on November 21, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP

A group of 50 schoolchildren have escaped from their abductors after being kidnapped from St. Mary’s School in Nigeria’s Niger state on Friday, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, efforts to recover the remaining 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers continue.

The children, who range in age from 10 to 18, all escaped between Friday and Saturday individually, the Most Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said in a statement on Sunday.

The incident has triggered international concern, highlighting broader issues of government security, access to education, and community vulnerability in northern Nigeria.

The kidnapping comes as the persecution of Christians in Nigeria has garnered global attention, with Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump and rapper Nicki Minaj all speaking out against the issue.

Nigeria’s military and police did not issue immediate updates on ongoing rescue efforts. Authorities stated that tactical squads and local hunters have been deployed to pursue the kidnappers.

The Niger State government closed many schools, and President Bola Tinubu cancelled international engagements, including attending the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to handle the crisis.

The two abduction operations and an attack on a church in the west of the country, in which two people were killed, have happened since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he called the killing of Christians by radical Islamists in Nigeria. Nigeria is still scarred by the kidnapping of nearly 300 girls by Boko Haram jihadists at Chibok in northestern Borno state more than a decade ago. Some of those girls are still missing.