Nigerian Military in Firefight With Gang That Kidnapped Students

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, (Reuters) — The Nigerian army engaged in a firefight Saturday with gunmen who had kidnapped scores of secondary college college students in northwestern Katsina state the evening earlier than, the nation’s president mentioned.

President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned in a press release on Saturday that the army had situated the abductors in a forest and, helped by air help, was exchanging fireplace with them. One officer was shot and wounded within the preventing with the gang.

Within the assertion, Mr. Buhari condemned the assault in his house state, and the police mentioned they might deploy extra forces to help the search and rescue.

The gang, armed with AK-47s, stormed the Authorities Science secondary college in Kankara district about 9:40 p.m. on Friday, the police and residents mentioned. A mum or dad and college worker advised Reuters that roughly half the varsity’s 800 college students had been lacking, however the police and the army had been nonetheless attempting to find out what number of had really been kidnapped.

Law enforcement officials on the scene on Friday exchanged fireplace with the attackers, permitting some college students to run for security, a police spokesman, Gambo Isah, mentioned in a press release.

Katsina is affected by violence that the federal government attributes to bandits — a free time period for gangs of outlaws who assault locals and kidnap for ransom. Assaults by Islamic militants are frequent in northeastern elements of the nation.

Violence and insecurity throughout Nigeria have enraged residents, significantly after scores of farmers had been killed, some beheaded, by Islamist militants in northeast Borno state late final month.