POPE LEO DEMANDS FREEDOM FOR 300 KIDNAPPED CHRISTIAN STUDENTS AND SIX PRIESTS

Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal for the liberation of students, clergy, and worshippers abducted in violent attacks across Nigeria and Cameroon.

Speaking to pilgrims in St Peter's Square after Sunday Mass, the Pope said he felt "immense sadness" over reports of mass abductions and wanted decisive intervention from authorities.

On Friday in the Papiri district of Niger state, Nigeria, gunmen stormed St Mary High School, a Catholic school, abducting more than 300 students and staff. Although 50 children later escaped and were reunited with their families, at least 265 students and teachers remain in captivity, according to Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The abducted children range from 10 to 18 years old and are believed taken into dense forests straddling Niger and neighboring states, where armed gangs have long operated unhindered.

Days earlier in Cameroon, six Catholic priests belonging to the Archdiocese of Bamenda were seized in Ndop, while a Baptist pastor was taken in the neighboring Jakiri area in Bui division.

Nigerian officials provided no new information on rescue operation progress, and no faction has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

The attack in Niger state occurred four days after 25 pupils, mostly Christian, were taken in a similar raid in Maga, a predominantly Muslim Kebbi state town 106 miles away. Some 38 worshippers kidnapped during a deadly raid on Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara state were later released after two people were killed.

President Bola Tinubu vowed the government would "not relent" until every abducted person is brought home, stating "Every Nigerian, in every state, has the right to safety, and under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people."

US President Donald Trump recently stated that Christians are facing persecution in Nigeria and that he was prepared to take military action. Security analysts suggest lax justice has emboldened gangs operating across northern states.

Confidence McHarry of SBM Intelligence told the Associated Press that "The absence of consequences is what is fueling these attacks."

Niger state ordered the closure of all schools in response, while federal authorities temporarily shut vulnerable institutions in other high risk areas. More than 1,500 students have been kidnapped in the past 10 years, many freed only after ransom payments.

THE CRUSADER'S OPINION

Three hundred children kidnapped from their school.

Six priests seized.

A Baptist pastor taken.

Thirty eight worshippers abducted from church.

This is what unchecked terrorism looks like.

Over 1,500 students kidnapped in Nigeria in the past decade.

The pattern is clear.

Armed gangs know they can operate with impunity because the Nigerian government refuses to execute justice.

Lax justice has emboldened these criminals.

When terrorists face no consequences, terrorism becomes profitable.

President Trump understands what European and African leaders refuse to acknowledge.

Military force is the only language terrorists understand.

These are not bandits.

They are not criminals.

They are enemies of civilization who target children in schools and worshippers in churches.

They deserve what Rome gave pirates.

Complete eradication.

The West spent centuries fighting to make kidnapping and slavery capital offenses.

Now we watch children dragged into forests and wring our hands about root causes and dialogue.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Every day these terrorists breathe free air, more children disappear.

TAKE ACTION

1. Support Nigerian Christian persecution victims through Open Doors UK, which provides emergency relief and advocacy for persecuted Christians. Donate at opendoorsuk.org or call +44 (0)1993 460015 for immediate assistance to kidnapping victims' families.
2. Contact the Nigerian High Commission in London to demand immediate military action to rescue kidnapped children and clergy. Call +44 (0)20 7839 1244 or email information@nigeriahc.org.uk pressing for aggressive counterterrorism operations.
3. Pressure your government to support US military intervention in northern Nigeria. Write to your MP via parliament.uk/get-involved demanding Western special forces assistance in hostage rescue operations and training Nigerian security forces.
4. Fund Barnabas Aid's Nigeria emergency response providing practical support to displaced Christians and families of kidnapping victims. Visit barnabasfund.org or call +44 (0)1793 610010 to donate directly to relief efforts.
5. Support International Christian Concern's advocacy for Nigerian Christians facing terrorism. Visit persecution.org to sign petitions demanding international action and sanctions against Nigerian officials failing to protect Christian communities.
6. Pray for the 265 students and teachers still held captive, for the six priests and Baptist pastor, and for wisdom for rescue forces. Contact Release International at releaseinternational.org or +44 (0)1689 823491 to join organized prayer networks for Nigerian hostages.

THE CRUSADER'S OPINION

Three hundred children kidnapped from their school.

Six priests seized.

A Baptist pastor taken.

Thirty eight worshippers abducted from church.

This is what unchecked terrorism looks like.

Over 1,500 students kidnapped in Nigeria in the past decade.

The pattern is clear.

Armed gangs know they can operate with impunity because the Nigerian government refuses to execute justice.

Lax justice has emboldened these criminals.

When terrorists face no consequences, terrorism becomes profitable.

President Trump understands what European and African leaders refuse to acknowledge.

Military force is the only language terrorists understand.

These are not bandits.

They are not criminals.

They are enemies of civilization who target children in schools and worshippers in churches.

They deserve what Rome gave pirates.

Complete eradication.

The West spent centuries fighting to make kidnapping and slavery capital offenses.

Now we watch children dragged into forests and wring our hands about root causes and dialogue.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Every day these terrorists breathe free air, more children disappear.

TAKE ACTION

1. Support Nigerian Christian persecution victims through Open Doors UK, which provides emergency relief and advocacy for persecuted Christians. Donate at opendoorsuk.org or call +44 (0)1993 460015 for immediate assistance to kidnapping victims' families.
2. Contact the Nigerian High Commission in London to demand immediate military action to rescue kidnapped children and clergy. Call +44 (0)20 7839 1244 or email information@nigeriahc.org.uk pressing for aggressive counterterrorism operations.
3. Pressure your government to support US military intervention in northern Nigeria. Write to your MP via parliament.uk/get-involved demanding Western special forces assistance in hostage rescue operations and training Nigerian security forces.
4. Fund Barnabas Aid's Nigeria emergency response providing practical support to displaced Christians and families of kidnapping victims. Visit barnabasfund.org or call +44 (0)1793 610010 to donate directly to relief efforts.
5. Support International Christian Concern's advocacy for Nigerian Christians facing terrorism. Visit persecution.org to sign petitions demanding international action and sanctions against Nigerian officials failing to protect Christian communities.
6. Pray for the 265 students and teachers still held captive, for the six priests and Baptist pastor, and for wisdom for rescue forces. Contact Release International at releaseinternational.org or +44 (0)1689 823491 to join organized prayer networks for Nigerian hostages.