Fifty of the more than 300 children abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria have managed to escape their captors, a Christian group announced in a statement on Sunday.
"We have received some good news as fifty pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents," the Christian Association of Nigeria said, adding that the children fled between Friday and Saturday.
Armed men raided St Mary's Co-educational School in Niger State on Friday, seizing 303 children and 12 teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria's history.
The abduction followed an earlier attack on Monday, when gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi State and kidnapped 25 girls. Mounting security fears in Africa's most populous nation have triggered widespread school closures across several regions.
The number of boys and girls taken from St Mary's – aged between eight and 18 years – represents nearly half of the school's total enrolment of 629 pupils.
The Nigerian government has yet to issue a statement on the number of students and teachers abducted.
"As much as we welcome the return of these 50 children with a sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims," said Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of CAN in Niger State.