At least 50 of more than 300 students abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State last week, have escaped, the Christian Association of Nigeria announced on Sunday.
The pupils fled between Friday and Saturday and have since been reunited with their parents, CAN’s Niger State chairman, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, said in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Daniel Atori.
In Kwara State, 38 worshippers abducted from the Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku in Ekiti Local Government Area, have also regained their freedom.
Meanwhile, disagreements have emerged between CAN’s Niger State chapter and the state government regarding the number of students and staff abducted, as well as the veracity of the Friday attack at St. Mary’s School in Papiri.
A member of Niger State’s Christian community, Elder Lucky Oyekunle, has warned Governor Mohammed Umar Bago against downplaying the security situation, particularly the abduction of 315 staff and pupils from the Catholic school.
Speaking about Governor Bago’s Saturday night TVC appearance addressing the incident, Elder Oyekunle said, “The governor on TVC claimed that there was no abduction, the same governor before then, at the palace of the Emir of Borgu admitted that, everybody in the school have been carted away.”
He added, “The governor accused Papiri schools authority, and maybe CAN of rushing to the press with figures, and at the same time claiming that the number of victims were quite lower than what was announced by the school management to CAN.”
Oyekunle described the governor’s statements as “blame-shifting, lacking accountability, and display of outright dishonesty,” noting that Nigerlites are becoming increasingly aware of discrepancies in official accounts.
According to the CAN statement, “We now have primary 251 pupils, 14 secondary students and 12 teachers still with their abductors. Aside from the 50 pupils that escaped and have returned to their various homes, we have 141 pupils who were not carried away. As it stands now, we have 236 pupils, another 3 children who belong to our staff, 14 secondary students making a total of 253 children including 12 members of staff that are still with the abductors. We received news about 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 students and staff.”
Yohanna added that the escaped pupils could not return to the school immediately but were traced after officials visited some parents. Among those who returned were Samson Bitrus, Justina Adamu, Emmanuel Francis, Keziah Musa, Amos Mathew, Lawrence James, Timothy Peter, and several others.
In Kwara State, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq confirmed the release of the 38 CAC worshippers in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye. He attributed their freedom to the direct intervention of President Bola Tinubu.
The statement read, “The abductees were freed today, November 23 (Sunday). The governor is immensely grateful to President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for his direct initiative that made this happen.
The president had called off his scheduled trip for the G20 Meeting in South Africa to attend to the breaches in Kwara and Kebbi states. He had also directed heightened security deployments to Kwara, in what underlined his firm commitment to the safety and well-being of our people and Nigerians as a whole. The governor also expresses appreciation to the Office of the National Security Adviser; the Department of State Services (DSS); the Nigerian Army; Nigeria Intelligence Agency; and, of course, the Nigeria Police, which have graciously deployed four new tactical teams to Kwara State on the directive of the president. The governor also thanks members of the security forces across board, thought leaders, religious institutions, and all Kwarans for their support and goodwill since the unfortunate incident.”
