Nigerian parents of abducted children say they are being kept in dark

Anxious parents of the over 300 schoolchildren seized in Nigeria last week by armed men say the government is keeping them in the dark about rescue efforts.

No group has claimed responsibility for abducting the youngsters and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in the remote community of Papiri. Fifty of the students have since escaped.

“What affects me the most, [is that] every day I’m depressed, no food, every day crying and fasting. Bring back our children, please,” says Papiri resident and mother, Tabita.

For parents, the stress has been unbearable, with local officials saying two of them have since died, one of a heart attack.

Some of the children are as young as 10.

Parents have gathered at the dusty school compound in Papiri, attempting to comfort each other. Ejeh says his wife fainted after hearing their son was taken.

“It is painful. Mathew is a very kind boy who dreams of becoming a football player. He is after football day and night,” Ejeh says.

Elizabeth Samuel says her son was not among the children who managed to escape their captors.

“I was told that he was helping the younger one to escape through the fence, and it was during that process that he was kidnapped. We are very sad, especially myself, he is my last son from the family,” she said.

Nigerian authorities say helicopters and ground troops have been deployed to secure the release of the remaining captives.

The abduction was the latest in a wave of attacks by armed groups in northern Nigeria that target vulnerable civilian populations and orchestrate mass abductions for ransom.

It came days after 25 students were seized in similar circumstances in nearby Kebbi state. Nigerian authorities on Tuesday said all of those students have been rescued.