LAGOS, Nigeria

Fifty of the 303 students and staff abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria have escaped captivity, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger state said on Sunday.

According to a statement by Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger State chapter of CAN and Catholic bishop of the Kontagora Diocese, the schoolchildren regained their freedom on Saturday and reunited with their families.

Terrorists had stormed the St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, in the early hours of Friday, kidnapping the students and staff.

A total 253 children and 12 teachers are still held by the kidnappers, the statement said.

Yohanna appealed for continued support and calm amid efforts to secure the release of the remaining abductees.

While the Niger state government said the incident occurred after the school reopened without government clearance despite a prior directive suspending boarding activities in the area, Yohanna denied any prior warning from either the government or security agencies as claimed by the secretary to state government.

The federal government has since shut down 47 Unity Colleges across the country. Binta Abdulkadir, director of senior secondary education at the Education Ministry, said the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, had approved the temporary closure of schools due to recent security challenges in some parts of the country.

The mass abduction follows claims by US President Donald Trump that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria. The Nigerian government has dismissed the claim as a misrepresentation of reality, saying terrorists attack Muslims and Christians alike.