ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, bringing relief to some distraught families after one of the largest school abductions in Nigeria’s history.

The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school.

The pope on Sunday called for the immediate release of the remaining schoolchildren and staff.

A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still being held by the kidnappers, Yohanna said in a statement. “We were able to ascert

See Full Page