According to a nun, many of the hundreds of children abducted from a school in Nigeria were as young as 5 years old. She also recounted how 50 of the students managed to escape over the weekend.
Mary Barron, the superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), described a significant number of the 303 children kidnapped from St. Mary’s School in Nigeria’s Papiri community on Friday as “tiny,” the .
“In this region of the world where educational opportunities are scarce, parents send their children to boarding school from nursery age, so you find very young children; the majority of the missing children are from the primary school,” Barron stated.
School officials announced on Sunday that 50 students, aged between 10 and 18, had individually escaped between Friday and Saturday. They confirmed that 253 students and 12 teachers were still being held captive.
Barron explained that their captors were evaded by jumping over a wall and fleeing into the bush.
“They reported walking and walking because they knew returning to the school was not an option, so they simply continued until they recognized something familiar,” she added.
The Associated Press reported that no group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack. The news outlet further mentioned that authorities stated tactical squads and local hunters were actively engaged in efforts to rescue the .
The exact whereabouts of the remaining students and teachers continue to be unknown.
“I truly hold onto hope,” Barron affirmed. “I sincerely believe that if a concentrated effort is made, if we can mobilize enough people with the necessary resources to locate these children, then it is achievable.”
Nigeria has experienced a series of assaults targeting Christians and their institutions, prompting President to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed these U.S. assertions.
Rachel Wolf and Anders Hagstrom of Digital, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.