Gunmen abducted 280 Nigerian pupils

More than 280 schoolchildren have been abducted by dozens of armed men in the town of Kuriga in northwest Nigeria, according to reports.

“The pupils were in the assembly ground when dozens of gunmen on motorcycles rode through the school,” according to a witness said.

“The students, between the ages of eight and 15, were taken away, along with a teacher,” they added.

One pupil was shot by the gunmen and was receiving medical attention at the Birnin Gwari hospital.

A teacher who managed to escape said local people had tried to rescue the children, but they were repelled by the gunmen and one person was killed.

Almost every family is thought to have a child among the kidnapped victims and the armed forces have launched an operation to find them.