Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school on Friday have escaped and been reunited with their parents, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Catholic church.

But about 253 kidnapped students as well as 12 staff members and teachers are still being held captive, CAN chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic bishop and proprietor of the school, said on Sunday.

What is behind Nigeria's latest school kidnappings?

Northern Nigeria has been plagued by 15 years of insurgencies, and the latest Catholic school mass kidnapping is the worst on record.

In a statement, Mr Yohanna said the pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday.

Parents rushed to the school, located in Niger state, to the west of the capital Abuja, after hearing that some

See Full Page