Nigeria's government is making no meaningful effort to rescue more than 250 children abducted from a Catholic boarding school in the central state of Niger last Friday, the main Catholic cleric in the region has told the BBC.
But Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna's accusation was disputed by the state's police chief, who accused the school of failing to co-operate with its search and rescue operations.
It is unclear who abducted the children from St Mary's school in Papiri village, but criminal gangs have been involved in kidnappings for ransom across Nigeria.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene militarily in Nigeria if the government fails to stop the killing of Christians.
Nigeria is the most populous state in Africa, with a large Christian and Muslim population. Its government claims that people of all faiths and no faith are victims of insecurity in the country.
Militant Islamist groups are also waging an insurgency in Nigeria, with the government confirming last week that a senior army general had been killed by jihadists in an ambush in north-eastern Borno state.
The Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) states that 303 students and 12 members of staff were abducted from the school, but 50 children managed to escape and have been reunited with their families. Bishop Yohanna remarked that aside from compiling the students' names, there had been no significant government actions taken to date.
Bishop Yohanna refuted allegations made by the governor of Niger state regarding the church's failure to heed a closure order due to threats of attacks, stating, We did not receive any order at any point.
In the wake of these events, the abduction marks a worrying trend as Nigeria grapples with increasing school kidnappings and attacks, pushing parents to withdraw their children from boarding schools. The government is pledging to enhance security measures at schools and places of worship to prevent further incidents.
