(MENAFN- Live Mint) Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from St Mary's Catholic school in Niger state have escaped, the school authority said on Sunday (November 23), offering a rare moment of relief amid one of Nigeria's largest mass kidnappings in years.

The children, aged between 10 and 18, escaped separately between Friday and Saturday.

“We have received some good news as fifty pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents,” the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said in a statement, AFP reported.

Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, CAN chairman in Niger state and the school's proprietor, said 253 children and 12 teachers remain in captivity.

Mass abduction at St Mary's

Gunmen raided St Mary's co-education school on Friday, abducting 303 students and 12 teachers. The number kidnapped represents nearly half of the school's 629 students.

The attack came just days after gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls, underscoring the worsening security environment.

The Nigerian government is yet to comment on the total number of victims or the status of rescue operations.

'Continue in your prayers'

“As much as we receive the return of these 50 children that escaped with some sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims,” Reverend Yohanna said.

Most victims of mass school kidnappings in Nigeria are released after negotiations with criminal gangs seeking ransom, as per the news report.

Pope expresses 'deep sorrow'

At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV made“a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages.”

“I feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families,” he said at the end of Mass in St Peter's Square.“I urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release.”

Trump calls situation 'a disgrace'

The abductions, along with a recent attack on a church in western Nigeria that killed two people and saw dozens kidnapped, drew fresh reaction from US President Donald Trump.

“What's happening in Nigeria is a disgrace,” he told Fox News Radio, again raising the prospect of military action over what he describes as the persecution of Christians by radical Islamist groups.

No claim of responsibility

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest kidnappings, and authorities have provided no update on rescue efforts. It remains unclear where the children are being held or how the group of 50 managed to escape.

The school is located off a major road linking Yelwa and Mokwa in a region where armed gangs operate out of dense forests that span multiple states.

Security crisis

Nigeria continues to struggle with overlapping security threats - from ransom-seeking criminal gangs in the northwest to a deadly Islamist insurgency in the northeast that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million since 2019.

The growing threat has triggered waves of school closures, leaving millions of children vulnerable and out of the classroom.

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