Armed gang abducts students from Islamic school in north-central Nigeria

Armed groups carrying out kidnapping for ransom are blamed for a series of raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, abducting more than 700 students for ransom since December.

BAUCHI/KADUNA: An armed gang abducted students from an Islamic school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger on Sunday, police and state government officials said. Armed groups carrying out kidnapping for ransom are blamed for a series of raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, abducting more than 700 students for ransom since December. A spokesman for Niger`s state police said in a statement that gunmen on motorcycles attacked the town of Tegina, in the Rafi local government area of the state, at around 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Sunday.