Fifty of the 315 children kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria's Niger State on Friday have escaped.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has confirmed they have been reunited with their families.
A significant military-led search and rescue operation is currently ongoing for the remaining 265 children and 12 teachers who were also abducted.
In expressing his sorrow over the situation, Pope Leo XIV urged authorities to act quickly for the release of the abductees.
As a precautionary measure, authorities in various Nigerian states have mandated schools to close following the mass abduction in Niger State and another smaller incident in Kebbi State which saw 20 pupils taken from a boarding facility.
The escape of the children brings a moment of relief for their families and citizens, weary from the turmoil over numerous school abductions in Nigeria's northwest region.
Reports indicate that the students made their escape between Friday and Saturday in what was described as a courageous and risky move away from their captors.
The children and teachers were seized from St. Mary's School in Papiri; initial reports mentioned a total of 303 students and 12 teachers kidnapped.
This current incident has drawn parallels to the infamous Chibok kidnapping of 2014 when 276 girls were abducted.
Eyewitness accounts claim that armed men assaulted the school around 02:00 (local time), targeting students who were boarding there.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bongo announced the closure of all schools in the area, emphasizing the need for urgent action over a potential blame game.
Dominic Adamu, whose daughters attend the school but were not abducted, shared the widespread feelings of shock and helplessness in the community.
One distressed relative voiced her anguish as she reported two of her nieces, aged six and thirteen, were among the kidnapped, saying, 'I just want them to come home.'
Military, police, and local vigilante groups are scouring nearby forests and remote trails believed to have been used by the criminals.
Authorities in Niger State remarked that St. Mary's School had ignored a directive to close boarding facilities after warnings about a significant risk of attacks, although the school has yet to respond to this allegation.
The ongoing kidnappings for ransom by local criminal factions, often referred to as bandits, underscore the extensive insecurity facing many areas in Nigeria.
Despite efforts to outlaw ransom payments, aimed at cutting financial support to these criminal networks, the situation continues to worsen.
This Monday, another incident occurred where over 20 schoolgirls, reportedly Muslim, were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi State, prompting similar closures of secondary institutions across the region.
In the south, a violent church attack in Kwara State led to the deaths of two individuals, with 38 others abducted.
President Bola Tinubu has postponed international engagements, including a planned trip to the G20 summit in South Africa, to address the immediate security crisis.
This recent spate of attacks contrasts sharply with claims from political figures in the US regarding the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, a narrative the Nigerian government has rejected as grossly misrepresented.
Local extremists have long targeted numerous communities across Nigeria, affecting people of all faiths, not solely Christians.
Many of the victims of violence in Nigeria remain unreported and unaccounted, and analysts contend the sectarian narratives often ignore the more intricate socio-economic roots of the conflicts.
The global spotlight remains on Nigeria as the plight of its schoolchildren continues to make headlines, evoking memories of former tragedies that have galvanized international response and solidarity.
