Many have been abducted from an Islamic school in northern Nigeria | Conflicting Issues

The state government said about 200 children were in school when men armed with assault rifles attacked them.

Armed forces have rescued dozens of students from an Islamic school in the northern Niger state of Nigeria, police and government officials said.

About 200 children were at the school during the uprising on Sunday, the Niger government said on Twitter, adding that an “uncertain number” had been taken.

The kidnapping took place one day after 14 students from a university in northwestern Nigeria were released after spending 40 days in jail.

A Niger state police spokesman said in a statement that gunmen stormed the town of Tegina, in the Rafi region of the province, around 3pm (14:00 GMT) on Sunday.

He said the attackers were “indiscriminately shooting and abducting unidentified children at the Salihu Tanko Islamic school”. One person was killed in the beating and a second was seriously injured, a spokesman for the state ambassador said.

Military militias kidnapping people have been blamed for raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, holding more than 700 students to rescue since December.

The school’s owner, Abubakar Tegina, told Reuters by telephone that he had seen the incident.

“I personally saw between 20 and 25 motorcycles with assault rifles. He attended the school and went with about 150 students or more, “said Tegina, who lives about 150 meters (about 500 feet) from the school.

“We can’t be fair because most of them didn’t go to school like that at the time,” he said, when asked to find out more about the number that was taken.

Tegina said there are about 300 children between the ages of seven and 15. He also said the students live at home and only study with them at the facility.

One of the school officials, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency that the fighters had taken more than 100 children “but then turned back those who considered them younger, between the ages of four and 12”.

The state government, in a series of tweets, said the attackers released 11 of the students who were “too small and could not walk” too far.

Many students kidnapped in recent months were taken to boarding schools.

Military groups have been threatening people in northwestern and central Nigeria by looting villages, stealing cattle, and stealing people to redeem.

On April 20, militants known as “bandits” raided Greenfield University in northwestern Nigeria and arrested about 20 students, killing a colleague.

Five students were killed a few days later to force families and the government to pay the ransom, and The other 14 students were released Saturday.

Local media reported that the families had paid $ 180 million ($ 440,000) in ransom for their release.

Gangs keep camping in Rugu Forest located in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger counties.