Nigeria: Chibok Secondary School, Maiduguri

12 May 2014

One of the teenagers who escaped from Islamic extremists who abducted more than 200 schoolgirls has said the kidnapping was "too terrifying for words" and she is now scared to go back to school. Sarah Lawan, a 19-year-old science student, spoke yesterday as Nigerians prayed for the safety of the 276 students still held captive. Their prayers were joined by Pope Francis.

"Let us all join in prayer for the immediate release of the schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria," the Roman Catholic leader tweeted, using the trending hashtag: #BringBackOurGirls. Lawan told The Associated Press (AP) that more of the girls could have escaped but they were frightened by their captors' threats to shoot them. She spoke in the local Hausa language in a phone interview from Chibok, her home and the site of the mass abduction in North-east Nigeria.

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