A parent of some of the abducted schoolchildren from St. Mary’s School in Niger State has died.
This was confirmed by Rev. John Hayab, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Northern Region and the FCT on Wednesday.
He said the man died from a heart attack caused by the shock and trauma of his children’s abduction.
“One of the parents of the abducted children died yesterday after suffering a heart attack,” Rev. Hayab said during an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday.
“Mr. Anthony died because all three of his children were taken by the abductors.”
He added that the emotional stress on the families is overwhelming.
“People don’t understand that when you speak the truth, you’re not attacking anyone, you are only stating the real problem. The pain and trauma are still very fresh. When we tried to speak with the parents today, many of them were too scared to talk.”
Earlier, The News Chronicle reported that fifty pupils abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, Niger State, escaped and reunited with their families, according to school authorities.
The children escaped between Friday and Saturday but were unable to return to the school immediately.
The school confirmed their return after contacting their parents and visiting their homes.
Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, Chairman of CAN in Niger State and Proprietor of the school, expressed relief over the escape but urged Nigerians to continue praying for the safe rescue of the remaining victims.
According to a statement signed by his media aide, Daniel Atori, “We now have 251 primary pupils, 14 secondary students, and 12 teachers still in captivity.”
He explained that the school has 430 primary pupils, including 377 boarders and 53 day students.
So far, 50 escaped pupils have returned home, while 141 pupils were not abducted.
At the moment, a total of 253 people, including 236 pupils, three children belonging to staff members, 14 secondary school students, and 12 staff members, remain with the abductors.
