Early this morning, dozens of schoolboys and staff at the Government Science college in the Kagara district of Niger state were kidnapped after gunmen stormed the building. This marks the latest event in a string of high school abductions occurring in the northern states of Nigeria. The event occurred around 2 a.m. according to local media. School security was unable to overtake the mob and one student was killed before 27 others were kidnapped.

The governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello reported that 27 students, 3 staff, and 12 family members were kidnapped in the event. The gunmen allegedly ordered students and staff to leave hostels and gather together, eventually shooting one and kidnapping the rest. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been heavily criticized for his slow reactions to previous abductions. This time he deployed the country’s military chiefs to coordinate a rescue operation and hopefully retrieve the hostages.

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