Gunmen have attacked an agricultural college in the north-western Nigerian state of Zamfara kidnapping a number of students and staff as well as killing several security guards.
A staff member, his wife and two children were abducted alongside 15 students, Malam Aliyu Bakura, the deputy head of the college of Agriculture Bakura, told the BBC.
Mr Aliyu said that the attackers who came “in large numbers” on motorbikes have also killed four security guards including a police officer.
The police spokesperson in Zamfara state, Mohammed Shehu, told the BBC they would issue a statement on the incident later on Monday.
This is the latest attack by armed criminal gangs targeting students in the region as kidnappings for ransom continue to worsen in the region.
Since last December more than 1000 students have been seized from schools, colleges and universities – most of them have been released reportedly after ransom payments.
But there are still around 300 in captivity including more than 100 kidnapped from an Islamic school in Niger state and dozens of others taken from a Baptist secondary school in neighbouring Kaduna state.
Source: BBC
