Overview
- Gunmen seized about 303 pupils and 12 staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, during a pre-dawn raid on Friday.
- Church officials say at least 50 students escaped and reunited with families, and President Bola Tinubu reported 51 students are now free.
- Local accounts describe students hiding in nearby bushland and residents assisting some escapees back to their homes.
- Roughly 253 people remain in captivity, including a dozen staff, as officials caution that the headcount is still being verified.
- Police tactical units and the military are conducting search-and-rescue operations, authorities have closed dozens of boarding schools in several states, Tinubu canceled a trip to oversee security, 38 abducted churchgoers in Kwara were rescued, and Pope Leo XIV called for the hostages’ immediate release.