Fifty children abducted from St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, have escaped their captors, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The pupils, taken during Friday’s mass abduction by armed bandits, were said to have found their way to safety between Friday and Saturday.
Their escape was confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday by Daniel Atori, media aide to the CAN Chairman in Niger State, Most Rev Bulus Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese.
“We have received some good news as fifty pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents. They could not return to the school after they escaped. We were able to ascertain this when we contacted and visited some parents,” he said.
He explained that the school’s primary section has 430 pupils, of whom 377 are boarders.
“Aside from the 50 pupils that escaped and have returned home, we have 141 who were not carried away. As it stands, we have 236 pupils, another three children belonging to staff, 14 secondary students, making a total of 253 children including 12 members of staff with the abductors,” he said.
Images released on Sunday showed empty bunk beds and scattered belongings in the students’ dormitories following the raid in the Agwarra local government area.
The diocese also published the names of the children who fled, according to a separate statement issued by the Diocesan Secretary, Rev Fr Jatau Joseph.
Initial reports had suggested 227 pupils were taken, but CAN’s updated assessment put the figure at 315 abducted, 303 students and 12 staff.
Bishop Yohanna said a verification exercise revealed that some children earlier thought to have escaped were in fact missing.
“After we left the school at Papiri, we made calls and further enquiries, only to discover that 88 more students were captured after they tried to escape.
“Some parents whose children we thought had fled later came to ask about them. We conducted a final census and discovered they were abducted,” he said.
Yohanna also dismissed claims circulating that the school had received a security warning prior to the attack.
“It is very important to address the issue of alleged prior warnings. There was no circular. That must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame. In the past, when we heard rumours of a security threat, we shut down immediately,” he said.
He added that the school is owned by the Catholic Diocese, not any individual, rejecting suggestions that staff ignored warnings or travelled during the period.
“We asked the Education Secretary, and he confirmed he received no circular. The National Association of Private Schools also received none. Claims that the school was previously shut and recently reopened are not true. We are law-abiding,” he said.
The CAN Chairman urged the public to remain calm and prayerful as efforts intensify to rescue those still in captivity.
“As much as we welcome the escape of these 50 children, I urge everyone to continue praying for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims. We are working closely with security agencies, community leaders and government authorities,” he said.
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