Bandits have attacked the Government Science Secondary School, Ƙanƙara, Katsina State.
Armed with sophisticated weapons, the bandits stormed the school in their numbers and attacked the students in an operation that last about an hour.
The school principal, Malam Usman Abubakar who confirmed the incident to Channels Television on a phone call said the bandits arrived the school at about 10:15 pm on Friday.
Abubakar revealed that the bandits on arrival at the school entrance, burgled the school gate and shot one of the policemen at the gate in the leg.
He says the officer is, however, now receiving treatment in one of the hospitals while the other one.
The police also confirmed the incident.
This attack comes less than six hours after President Muhammadu Buhari arrived his home state for a week-long private visit.
“The bandits came on motorcycles firing sporadically and tried to enter the school,” state police spokesman Isa Gambo told AFP.
“Our men with the assistance of the army engaged them in a shootout lasting one and half hours,” he added.
The gunmen were forced to retreat and were being tracked, but the spokesman made no mention of casualties.
It was also unclear if any hostages had been taken.
“We are still taking the roll call to determine if any student is missing,” the spokesman said.
Reinforcements had been deployed to search for any missing students.
“This morning some 200 students who fled for safety during the assault have returned to the hostel, ” he added.
Meanwhile according to an online news platform Within Nigeria report a policeman who spoke on anonymity confirmed to newsmen that “the group walked confidently into the school premises and kidnapped an undisclosed number of students”.
“As I speak to you now, no one can tell you the exact number of the students that were abducted and in the custody of the armed men,” the policeman said.
“They (gunmen) shot our colleague and the gateman too but they are all alive receiving treatment now,” he added.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the terrorists stormed the school numbering about a hundred around 10 – 11 pm, forcing many students to run into the bush seeking help.
Ashiru (not the real name), one of the eyewitnesses, disclosed that “they shot sporadically in the students’ hostels. They searched bags looking for food and kidnapped dozens”.
“We ran to the bush together with some students, we were terribly confused and so many students sustained injuries while running.”
As of the time of compiling this report, it was not clear how many students were either hiding in the bush or those in the custody of the abductors.
Another source told newsmen that, a few hours after the attack, the police evacuated the students from the school to the local government secretariat.
Our reporter sighted several students who returned from hiding crying with hundreds of residents sympathizing with them.
The Kankara Police Command declined to comment on the issue. This reporter was referred to the state police spokesman for the details of the incident.
This incident happened two days after armed groups kidnapped a village head and 20 other civilians in Gamji village Sabuwal Local Government Area of Katsina State.
