{"id":36325,"date":"2025-11-24T21:26:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=36325"},"modified":"2025-12-01T17:04:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T17:04:48","slug":"fifty-children-escape-after-mass-school-abduction-in-nigeria-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/fifty-children-escape-after-mass-school-abduction-in-nigeria-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifty children escape after mass school abduction in Nigeria – reports"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"More<\/a>
More than 300 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fifty of the 303 children kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria on Friday have escaped, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).<\/p>\n

CAN<\/b><\/a> has since clarified that they escaped on Friday and Saturday and have been reunited with their parents in Niger state. However, the police say they haven’t been able to confirm these reports.<\/p>\n

A major military-led search and rescue operation is under way for the remaining 253 children and 12 teachers who remain missing.<\/p>\n

Join or Support Christian Voice \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Schools shut<\/h2>\n

Authorities<\/b><\/a> in several Nigerian states have ordered schools to shut following the mass abduction in Niger and another smaller hostage-taking in Kebbi state on 24th November 2025 when 25 pupils were kidnapped from a boarding school.<\/p>\n

In response to the spate of abductions, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered<\/b><\/a> the recruitment of an additional 30,000 police officers.<\/p>\n

In another development, 38 people abducted from a church service in Kwara state last week were freed on Sunday, the state governor said.<\/p>\n

Two people were killed in the attacked on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku. Orders were given for many schools to close in states including Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Yobe and Kwara.<\/p>\n

There is still a lot of confusion and uncertainty in Papiri, the village in Niger state where the children were taken from.<\/p>\n

Nigeria’s presidency responds<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Nigerian Police on duty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Tinubu’s office said has said that all police in Very Important Persons (VIP) protection services had been redeployed to focus on core duties, especially in remote areas prone to attacks.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> published earlier this month by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) said more than a quarter of Nigeria’s estimated 371,000-strong police force – 100,000 – were “assigned to the protection of politicians and VIPs, rather than to tasks serving the general population”.<\/p>\n

According to CAN, the pupils managed to escape in what is being described as a brave and risky attempt to flee their captors.<\/p>\n

Insecurity claims refuted<\/h2>\n

Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Malagi has refuted president Trump, stating that while the country is indeed facing security challenges, most of the attacks are not driven by religious motives.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigeria has a history of violent extremism that has created tension for us in the country, but I also want to point out that mostly they don\u2019t discriminate between who is a Muslim or who is a Christian,\u201d Malagi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristian communities and Muslim communities have been attacked by these extremists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister explained that claims Christians are being specifically targeted reflect a \u201clack of proper understanding of the diversity and complexity of the situation that we have in Nigeria\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a press release<\/a>, the Christian organisation said: “CAN made it clear that its position on this issue has long been established and remains unchanged. Across many parts of Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt, Christian communities have suffered repeated, organised, and brutal attacks which have left thousands dead, villages destroyed, and families displaced. These are not isolated crimes but a continuing pattern of violence that has persisted for years without justice or closure.<\/p>\n

“However, CAN was alarmed to see a press statement reportedly issued by Barrister Bwala, titled \u2018Presidency Debunks Western Christian Genocide Narrative in Dialogue with CAN Leadership.\u2019 The report falsely suggested that the CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, dismissed or downplayed the ongoing killings by describing them as a \u2018so-called Christian genocide.\u2019”<\/p>\n

That portrayal is completely false and grossly unfair.<\/p>\n

President Trump’s intervention<\/h2>\n

Heightened tension continues across Nigeria following President Trump\u2019s recent warning<\/a> that the United States may consider military intervention in the North after a series of attacks that claimed the lives of several Christians.<\/p>\n

His remarks, delivered during a briefing in Washington, have drawn mixed responses from political leaders but have also triggered strong emotions among Christian communities directly affected by the violence.<\/p>\n

In several northern towns, church gatherings have shifted from routine worship to focused intercession and community briefings.<\/p>\n

Christian leaders and residents say the situation has already forced families to relocate, disrupted schools and markets, and deepened fear in areas where security had been deteriorating for months.<\/p>\n

Across the South and Middle Belt, Christians are also weighing in, some expressing relief that the crisis is finally receiving international attention, while others voice concern about possible escalation. Their reactions reflect the complexity of a country still processing the implications of both the attacks and the global response they have provoked.<\/p>\n

“Real-life test of faith”<\/h2>\n
\"Are<\/a>
Are attacks on Christians in Nigeria on the rise? – BBC News
Creator: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Phillip James, a Christian man resident in Kano State Nigeria told Christian Voice: “Life in the North has always been severe, but what we face now is something altogether darker. Every sunset feels like a warning, and every distant sound makes children jump. We gather in small groups, whispering Scripture because it comforts us more than the noise in the world. Also because it is safer to keep it small and simple.<\/p>\n

“We heard what President Trump said, but most of us here have learned not to put too much weight on speeches. Our hope is on the word of God, because once that’s the only one we can trust in our trying times.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Christian woman, Miriam Okoro who migrated to Benue State from the Eastern part of Nigeria(Enugu) in 2007 said: “Living here as a Christian is a real-life test of faith. Our going out, coming in, sleeping, or breathing is a prayer point we hope God answers.<\/p>\n

“I have never seen anything as dark as what I witnessed in these past few weeks. That night broke something in me, or maybe it revealed something. Yet even in the devastation, I saw a truth, the light of God still travels from house to house, carried quietly by ordinary people who refuse to give up hope. And still, I find myself asking\u2026 is it not the same God the people of the South and the East cry out to as well?<\/p>\n

“Whether foreign soldiers come or not, I believe God sustains us through the courage of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if she and her family ever thought of relocating back to the East, she told Christian Voice, “This is our home now. We have lived here all our lives, there is nothing to go back to, but the recent attacks is making us consider moving to the South, but what is the guarantee we will all get out alive?”<\/p>\n

Another Christian Woman Joy Isa from Jos said: “We are pilgrims living on land that no longer feels like home. There\u2019s often a feeling of pilgrimage \u2014 travelling through a land that can be both beautiful and brutal, sustained by grace and faith. Life in the North can remind a Christian that earth is not our final home, but a journey toward eternal light.\u201d<\/p>\n

“If intervention brings order, we will welcome it”<\/h2>\n
\"Churches<\/a>
Churches in Nigeria have faced continuous attacks in recent time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Church has gone quiet on the outside, but louder in the Spirit\u201d, said a Pastor who spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

Pastor A whose church is in Benue State Nigeria, added: \u201cWe no longer meet in the same place twice, and sometimes our gathering is no more than five people whispering hymns in the dark. On the outside it looks like fear, but inside there is a boldness growing a certainty that Christ walks with us. The danger has stripped away everything unnecessary and left us with pure, stubborn faith.<\/p>\n

If intervention brings order, we will welcome it, but none of us are waiting passively. We are praying fiercely, resisting despair, and holding tightly to the truth that no power on earth can crush the Church when it prays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor A says that in these recent months, he steps into the pulpit with a trembling heart, not out of fear of death, but because he has already made peace with the reality that any service could be his last.<\/p>\n

“You look into the faces of your congregation and you see bravery mixed with exhaustion. Many have lost homes, loved ones, even entire communities, yet they come to worship with songs that rise like incense in the cold air.<\/p>\n

“Trump\u2019s declaration has sparked endless debate, but here in the North we are focused on survival and faithfulness. We do not know what tomorrow holds, so we pour everything into today, every sermon, every prayer, every moment of fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voices from the South<\/h2>\n

Distance does not dissolve responsibility said Evangelist Emem Ukpabio.<\/p>\n

“Many Christians in the South think the crisis is far away, but God does not measure suffering by geography. We are sending payers and love to the North. The Scriptures teaches us that the Church is one body, and when one part bleeds, the rest must rush to bind the wound.”<\/p>\n

Mrs Ukpabio who runs a ministry in Akwa Ibom state Nigeria (the South) added that: “We are praying not just for safety but the courage for believers to stand firm, and leaders to act with wisdom rather than pride. The North\u2019s pain has become the nation\u2019s burden to carry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rev. Matthew Iruka said: “This is a moment when the Church must steady the nation.\u201cEverywhere I go in the capital, people whisper about what might come next, war, intervention, collapse.<\/p>\n

Fear is spreading faster than truth, and this is precisely when the Church must become the steadying voice. We cannot add to the panic, we must anchor people in Scripture and in hope.<\/p>\n

Whether foreign troops arrive or not, whether politics stabilise or spiral, we must proclaim that God remains sovereign. The nation feels fragile, but the Kingdom is unshakeable.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same vein, Robinson Robinson welcomed President Trump\u2019s intervention plans, saying it reflects the urgency of the situation Christians face in the North.<\/p>\n

Mr. Robinson said: \u201cThis is exactly the kind of action we have been praying for. We cannot deny the fact that Nigerians are being attacked in different parts of the North on a daily basis. Every week we hear of killings, kidnappings, and churches burned.<\/p>\n

“The Christian community lives in constant fear. Fear of travelling, fear of gathering to worship, even fear of sleeping at night. If the Nigerian government cannot protect its citizens, then we need international support to stop this suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overlapping crises<\/h2>\n

Armed conflict has been one of Nigeria\u2019s biggest challenges since 2009, when various groups began waging war in the country\u2019s north. The struggle grabbed international attention in April 2014, when Boko Haram \u2014 a group known for its violent campaign against Western education, kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from their dormitory in Chibok, Borno State.<\/p>\n

Today, Nigeria faces overlapping security crises, including attacks by armed groups, bandits targeting farmers and rural communities, widespread kidnapping, separatist agitations, and deadly communal clashes between predominantly Muslim pastoral herders and mostly Christian farming communities of various ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

Nigeria has a population of 235 million, with a presence of more than 250 ethnic groups. Fifty-three percent of Nigerians are Muslim, and 45 percent are Christian. Ongoing violence has severely impacted the economy and, because many farmers are unable to farm, is causing a food emergency that has left millions of Nigerians starving and displaced.<\/p>\n

A nation united in prayer<\/h2>\n

These accounts, reveal a country wounded yet resolute. Believers mourn, but they also rise each day with steadfast faith, clinging not to promises of political aid but to the God who has carried His people through every trial.<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/h2>\n

Why Is The USA Defending Christians in Nigeria? \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

The awkward silence over the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Islamists murder children in Nigeria \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Read and pray<\/h2>\n

READ<\/b>:Isa 28:9; Rom 12:19; 2Tim 3:12; Heb 13:3; 1Pet 4:16; Rev 2:10; Rev 6:9\u201311.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRAY<\/b>: Pray for Christians in Nigeria.
\nPray for the abducted children.
\nPray for families of those who lost their lives following the recent attacks in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Let us know what YOU think in the comments below.<\/p>\n

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