Several students kidnapped as gunmen attack univer...

Several students kidnapped as gunmen attack university in central Nigeria

ABUJA, Xinhua - Several students were reported missing after a group of gunmen stormed their school in Nigeria’s central state of Kogi late Thursday, local authorities said Friday.

The gunmen attacked at least three lecture halls at the state-owned Confluence University of Science and Technology in the Okene area of Kogi Thursday night, as dozens of students held "group reading" ahead of their upcoming semester examination beginning on Monday, the school's vice chancellor, Abdulrahman Asipita, told reporters while assuring that the local authorities were “on top of the situation”.

The gunmen were said to have entered the classrooms and started shooting sporadically into the air, with an unspecified number of students whisked away before the arrival of security operatives, local media reported.

Kingsley Fanwo, a spokesperson for the state government, said in a statement that about nine students have been reported missing so far.

“The state government has activated the security architecture to track the kidnappers and ensure the abducted students are rescued, and the abductors apprehended,” the statement said.