Gunmen struck on Friday in a Government Girls Secondary School in Zamfara state and kidnapped about 300 schoolgirls.
This is the fourth of such massive kidnap by gunmen in Northwest Nigeria, starting from the abduction last December of over 300 students from a government college in Kankara, Katsina state.
The latest kidnap in the girls school in Jangebe, in Talatu Mafara LGA, happened around 2 a.m on Friday.
The gunmen stormed the school and herded the children away.
Scores of the terrorists were said to have overrun a military checkpoint close to the school before storming the school itself.
Several soldiers were said to have sustained injuries. It was not clear whether some fatalities occurred.
Zailani Bappah, Special assistant to Governor Bello Matawalle on public enlightenment confirmed the kidnap to BBC Pidgin.
Niger State has also experienced two of such kidnapping by terrorists this month.
On 14 February, 53 passengers of a bus coming from Kontagora to Minna were kidnapped, after the terrorists ambushed the bus.
The passengers, including children were freed following ransom payment.
On 17 February, 27 students and 15 others were also kidnapped in Kagara. The captives are yet to be released.
And from the statement by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, the gun are demanding ransom before releasing their victims.
The first kidnap of schoolgirls occurred in Chibok, Borno state on 14-15 April, 2014.
It was executed by Boko Haram terrorists.
About 276 schoolgirls were taken away, an action that shocked the world.
Up till now, 112 of the girls are still missing.
Then on 19 February, 2018, the terrorists stormed Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.
They kidnapped 110 schoolgirls aged between 11 and 19 years old. The girls were released in March, after ransom was paid.
But one of their captives, Leah Sharibu, a Christian has not been released.
