Nigeria: Gunmen abduct students from Catholic school

Abuja: A group of armed men kidnapped students from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, a government official confirmed on Friday.

"The Niger State government has received with deep sadness the disturbing news of the kidnapping of pupils from St. Mary's School in Agwara local government area," Abubakar Usman, the state government secretary, said in a statement.

Nigerian TV station Arise TV, cited by Reuters, said that 52 students had been abducted from the school in Niger state, but the government official gave no number.

"The exact number of abducted pupils is yet to be confirmed as security agencies continue to assess the situation," Usman said.

Niger state police said they had received a report around 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) that "some armed bandits invaded St. Mary's Private (Catholic) Secondary School... and abducted a yet to be ascertained number of students from the school's hostel."

Tactical police units and military forces had been deployed.

Security forces have been on high alert following a spate of recent attacks and kidnappings.

The police said they were "combing the forests with a view to rescue the abducted students."

Friday's kidnapping comes after an attack on Monday resulted in the abduction of 25 girls from a boarding school in Kebbi state.

The incident forced President Bola Tinubu to cancel foreign trips to deal with the fallout.