Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria, a Christian group said on Saturday, as security fears mounted in Africa’s most populous nation.
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The early Friday raid on St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state in central Nigeria came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people seized, but the new number came “after a verification exercise” following the early Friday mass kidnapping, and added that “The total number of victims abducted … is now 303 students and 12 teachers”.
The number of boys and girls kidnapped from St Mary’s is almost half of the school’s student population of 629.
The Nigerian government has not commented on the number of students and teachers abducted.
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Niger state governor Mohammed Umar Bago told reporters on Saturday that the intelligence department and police were “doing the headcount”, and the figure would be released by the end of the day.