A total of 42 people, including 27 students, has been abducted by armed bandit from a school in central Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the spokesperson to the Niger State Government Muhammad Sani Idris, to newsmen via a phone call on Wednesday.
“They kidnapped 42 people from the school. They took away 27 students, along with three teachers. They also kidnapped 12 family members of the teachers”
Idris added that one student was killed during the attack.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement earlier, condemned the abductions and ordered a rescue operation but did not confirm how many students were missing.
At least 650 students had been in the school when it was attacked late Tuesday by gunmen believed to belong to criminal gangs.
“The President has directed the Armed Forces and Police, to ensure the immediate and safe return of all the captives,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.
The president urged Nigeria’s security forces “to do all that can be done to bring an end to this saga, and avoid such cowardly attacks on schools in the future.”
Heavily-armed gangs known locally as “bandits” active in the northwest and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping, and pillaging.
It will be recalled that just two months ago, armed bandits attacked and kidnapped about 333 students of Government Secondary school, kankara, Katsina State.
