Nigerian parents say they are kept in dark over abducted schoolchildren

Papiri: Several parents of the over 300 schoolchildren seized by armed men in the latest mass abduction in Nigeria tell The Associated Press the government has told them nothing about rescue efforts, and the stress has been so high that one parent has died of a heart attack.

“Nobody from the government has briefed us about the abduction,” said Emmanuel Ejeh, whose 12-year-old son was taken from the Catholic school in Niger state.

No armed group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s abduction of 303 children from the remote community of Papiri, the latest in a series of high-profile seizures in search of ransom. Fifty of the students have since escaped.

The rise in mass abductions from schools comes as the Trump administration pressures Nigeria to act against what it calls the persecution of Christians there, a claim Nigeria’s government denies. Such abductions had decreased in the past two years.

Experts say Muslims suffer just as much or more from the attacks by bandits and militants linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.

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

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