More than 300 students, along with their teachers, were abducted from a Christian boarding school in Niger State, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, on November 21.
The attack on St Mary’s Papiri Private Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area (LGA) took place between 2.00 am and 3.00 am.
Fifty of the students have since escaped.
The attackers have not identified themselves, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bulus Yohanna, the Niger State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed in a statement November 22 that 303 students and 12 teachers had been abducted.
On Sunday, November 23 CAN issued a further statement that reported that 50 students had escaped from their captors and been reunited with their families.
According to the statement, this leaves 253 children and 12 members of staff still in captivity.
The scale of the abduction exceeds that of the kidnapping of 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 by Islamist extremists. Around 160 of the girls subsequently escaped, were rescued or released, but around 100 are still believed to be held by their captors.
How You Can Pray
Give thanks for the escape of these 50 students. Pray for the safe return of all remaining students and teachers. Ask the Lord to preserve them from harm and convict their captors of the evil of their actions to bring them to repentance. Pray that all those held captive will know His comfort and strength during this ordeal.
