Nigeria: At least 20 students abducted by gunmen from schools in northern regional
Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014
Gunmen abducted at least 20 students in northwestern Nigeria during an attack early Friday that targeted their school, local media and authorities reported on Friday, the latest in a cycle of violence in the country's troubled northern region.
Abubakar couldn't confirm the exact number of abducted students, though local media reported the figure as 24, quoting other students who also said that the kidnap victims were mostly female students.
Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state.
The frequency of the attacks though has reduced over the last year and Friday's incident presents a new challenge to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu who only took office in May.
The assailants in the latest incident arrived in large numbers after earlier confronting the security personnel in the area, residents said, highlighting once again the inadequate security presence in remote communities across Nigeria.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack though the blame quickly fell on the bandit groups that have been targeting remote communities across Nigeria's northwest and central regions.
Authorities say the groups are mostly made up of young pastoralists from Nigeria's Fulani tribe caught up in a decades-long conflict between host communities and herdsmen over limited access to water and land.
