Nigeria's government is making no meaningful effort to rescue more than 250 children abducted from a Catholic boarding school in the central state of Niger last Friday, the main Catholic cleric in the region has told the BBC.
But Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna's accusation was disputed by the state's police chief, who accused the school of failing to co-operate with its search and rescue operations.
It is unclear who abducted the children from St Mary's school in Papiri village, but criminal gangs have been involved in kidnappings for ransom across Nigeria.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene militarily in Nigeria if the government fails to stop the killing of Christians.
Nigeria is the most-populous state in Africa, with a large Christian and Muslim population. Its government says that people of all faiths and no faith are victims of insecurity in the country.
Militant Islamist groups are also waging an insurgency in Nigeria, with the government confirming last week that a senior army general had been killed by jihadists in an ambush in north-eastern Borno state.
More recently, the Niger state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reported that 303 students and 12 staff members were abducted; fortunately, 50 children managed to escape.
Bishop Yohanna, also the chairman of the Niger chapter of CAN, stressed that the only official action taken so far to rescue the students had been the compilation of their names, reflecting a troubling lack of urgency from authorities.
Responding to criticism regarding police presence during the crisis, Niger state police chief Adamu Abdullahi Elleman asserted that enough personnel had been deployed, emphasizing an ongoing search operation while denying any failure in their approach.
The ongoing surge in kidnappings has led to heightened fears among parents and forced the closure of many schools in Nigeria, which now face increased scrutiny and demands for improved security measures.
