One student killed and 10 people kidnapped in raid on Nigeria school

The kidnappers are apparently yet to make ransom demands

Over 800 students in Nigeria have been abducted since December 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

One student was killed and at least 10 people were kidnapped when gunmen raided a school in northern Nigeria, officials told Reuters on Friday.

The gunmen attacked the main campus of the Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic in Zaria, Kaduna state, late on Thursday, shooting sporadically and abducting two lecturers and eight students, according to Samuel Aruwan, the state’s commissioner of internal security.

Two students were shot, one fatally, while the other was being treated in hospital, Mr Aruwan said.

Aliyu Kofa, chairman of the school’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), said two lecturers and about 10 students were kidnapped. He added that the bandits had released families of the staff, who were also initially abducted.

The kidnappers had yet to make any ransom demands, according to Mr Kofa and Mr Aruwan.

Kidnappings by armed men, commonly referred to as bandits, have become endemic in northern Nigeria. More than 800 students have been abducted since December, most recently early this month when nearly 200 were taken from a school in Niger state.

Reuters