Abuja: At least 50 of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Niger state, north-central Nigeria, have escaped captivity and rejoined their families, the school authority said Sunday, offering some relief to worried families following one of the largest school kidnappings in Nigeria's history.

The children, aged 10 to 18, fled separately between Friday and Saturday, confirmed Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger state and proprietor of the school. He added that 253 students, along with 12 teachers, remain held by the kidnappers.

“We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna said.

The abduction happened during a gunman's attack on St. Mary's School in the remote Papir

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