Pope Calls on Kidnappers in Nigeria to Free 265 Students and Teachers After Some Pupils Escape

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s Niger state have escaped and are now with their families. The school authority said Sunday that 50 children aged 10 to 18 had escaped individually between Friday and Saturday. The Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state, confirmed the news. A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still missing after gunmen attacked the St. Mary’s School in the remote Papiri community on Friday. No group has claimed responsibility. The pope on Sunday called for the immediate release of all those being held.