Pope Leo XIV called on Sunday for the release of over 300 hostages taken from the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri in the Agwarra local government area of Niger state.
“I learned with immense sadness the news of the kidnappings of priests, faithful, and students in Nigeria and Cameroon,” he said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Saturday said gunmen had kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in raids on the Niger State school.
“I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages,” Leo said, expressing his “deep sorrow, especially for the many young boys and girls kidnapped and for their anguished families”.
“Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours and that churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope,” he said at the end of the Angelus prayer.
The attackers stormed the school, said to be a private Catholic school, in the early hours of Friday.
Sources said the gunmen arrived in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van.
They were said to have shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries.
A source in Agwara who confirmed the incident said, “Yes, it happened between 3 and 4 a.m. The number of students abducted is not yet confirmed.”
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