Two hundred students have reportedly been kidnapped from a school in Nigeria – the latest in a long string of abductions.
One person was shot dead while another was seriously wounded during the raid an Islamic school in Tegina, in the central state of Niger.
Armed groups carrying out kidnapping for ransom have carried out a series of raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, abducting more than 700 students for ransom since December.
“There was an abduction at an Islamic School in Tegina. But we are yet to ascertain the number of students abducted,” Mary Noel Berje, the state governor’s chief press secretary, told Reuters.
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Nigeria’s Channels Television reports that at least 200 students were taken.
Ahmed Matane, Secretary to the Niger State Government, told the network that simultaneous attacks were carried out as the kidnapping was taking place.
He said: “Yes, there was an attack at the Islamiyya school, but we do not yet have the exact number of students that were abducted.
“We are in touch with parents in the area to know those whose children were abducted.”
According to the Daily Trust newspaper, the abducted students are from the Salihu Tanko Islamic school.
On Saturday, the remaining 14 students were freed after being abducted last month from a university in neighbouring Kaduna state.
Kidnap for ransom has become common in the last few years in many parts of Nigeria.