Many of the hundreds of children abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria were as young as five years old, according to a nun who also described how 50 students escaped over the weekend.
Mary Barron, the superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), described many of the 303 children abducted on Friday from St. Mary’s School in Nigeria’s Papiri community as “little.” BBC reported.
“In this part of the world where education is not available, people send their children to boarding school from kindergarten onwards. So you have very small children. The majority of missing children are from primary school,” Barron said.
School officials said Sunday that 50 students, ages 10 to 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday. A total of 253 students and 12 teachers were still detained, they said.
ARMED ATTACKERS IN NIGERIA KIDN 25 GIRLS FROM A BOARDING SCHOOL
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen kidnapped children and staff in the Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
Barron said the 50 children escaped their captors by jumping over a wall and running into the bushes.
“They said they walked and walked because they knew they couldn’t walk back to school, so they kept walking until they found something familiar,” she said.
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen kidnapped children and staff in the Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS EFFORTS TO STOP CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA WITH A THREAT OF AID
No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, The Associated Press reported. The newspaper added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.
It remains unclear where the remaining students and teachers were being held.
“I’m really keeping hope alive,” Barron said. “I really believe that if there is a concerted effort, if we mobilize enough people with the resources necessary to find these children, this can happen.”
In this photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walks past assets of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen kidnapped children and staff in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Nigeria has suffered a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of special interest.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the US claims.
