Video Quality Speed 00:00 02:22 Hundreds kidnapped from Catholic School in Nigeria, re-invigorating calls for action After Mass on the Solemnity of Christ the King in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Leo said he was deeply saddened to learn of the kidnapping of priests, faithful and students in Nigeria and Cameroon. (TNND)

Nigeria has shut dozens of schools following a spate of abductions that saw hundreds of children kidnapped this week.

A father has told the BBC he felt powerless as he witnessed gunmen on motorbikes abduct dozens of children, including his son, after storming a Catholic boarding school in northern Nigeria in the early hours of Friday.

Gunmen kidnapped dozens of students from a Catholic school in northwest Nigeria as Washington ramps up pressure on Abuja to protect Christian communities.

Nigeria’s president has postponed his trip to this weekend’s Group of 20 summit after promising to intensify efforts to rescue 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by gunmen earlier this week in a northwestern region of the country.