ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian troops rescued seven children and two women abducted by gunmen at an orphanage last month in a north-central region, the army said in a statement released Thursday.
Authorities in Nigeria's Kogi state said that gunmen attacked an Islamic orphanage that was operating illegally and abducted 23 pupils in an “isolated area” of Lokoja, capital of Kogi State, on April 26. Fifteen of those abducted were immediately rescued.
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A Student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photograph with, Tajudeen M.S, right, the proprietor of the school, following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
The troops intercepted and recovered nine of those abducted within a forest area in the state, army spokesman Hassan Abdullahi said in the statement, which was dated Wednesday but released on Thursday.
“The rescued victims comprised five boys, two girls, and two adult females, believed to be the wives of the proprietor of the orphanage,” Abdullahi said.
The development would mean that there could be one more pupil missing, but the statement didn't mention if anybody else was unaccounted for.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Armed groups attack schools and abduct students because they are seen as strategic in drawing attention and exacting huge ransoms, according to analysts. Several hundred students have been kidnapped across Nigeria.
A Student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photograph with, Tajudeen M.S, right, the proprietor of the school, following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
A student from an orphanage school that was abducted with others by gunmen in late April, is photographed following his released in Lokoja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Haruna Yahaya)
BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) — Powerful storms that spawned at least three tornadoes tore through several Mississippi counties, damaging around 500 homes, uprooting trees and injuring at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.
There were no reports of deaths after the tornadoes cut across the state's southwest late Wednesday evening, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
He said 12 of those hurt were transported from a hard-hit trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, about an hour's drive south of the state capital in rural Lincoln County.
Most of the two dozen homes at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chain saw buzzed in the background.
Krystal Miller and six others — including babies as young as 4 weeks old — grabbed a Bible and sheltered in their home's hallway when the tornado sent the building cartwheeling through the air.
“We just flipped, and it threw us all out,” she said. “It scattered everybody out. … I can’t find the Bible.”
She said her young son was in the hospital for monitoring and another child was injured in the face.
“The trailer is in pieces but we made it out,” Miller said. “I'm feeling grateful.”
One intact trailer lay flipped on its roof near the tree line. Several cars, some with hazard lights blinking, appeared to have been picked up by the storm.
“We know there were at least three tornadoes,” said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Jackson.
“The same storm produced at least two tornadoes from Franklin, Lincoln into Lawrence counties, and then there was another one from Lamar possibly into Forest County.”
He said there may have been more. “Those are just the ones that we are able to confirm by radar before even having gone down there.”
“Pray for Mississippi,” Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.
Many roads were still blocked in Lincoln County and teams from the agency were assessing the damage.
“We ask that you please refrain from sightseeing as crews are working,” the department posted early Thursday.
The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter pod, a high-powered generator and 10 pallets of supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes.
Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the state emergency management agency. Another 10 to 12 homes were damaged in Lawrence County.
More storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the weather service said. Strong storms also were possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.
McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
Damage to Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., is seen Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
People stand among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A doll and other items are seen amid the destruction at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., on Thursday, May 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (Matt WIlliamson/Enterprise-Journal via AP)
A man stands among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People stand among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In this frame grab from video taken by WDAM, damaged trees and a house or structure following a storm that tore through part of Lamar County, Mississippi, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (WDAM via AP)
