Just In: President Buhari Orders Military Operation to Rescue Abducted Niger Schoolboys

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a military operation to find and rescue the hundreds of schoolboys abducted in Niger state by suspected bandits.

Reports also have it that the Niger state government has ordered the closure of all boarding schools in the state following the abduction of the schoolboys.

Heavily-armed gangs known locally as “bandits” in the northwest and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping, and pillaging.

Late Tuesday, large numbers of gunmen dressed in military uniforms stormed the Government Science College (GSC) in the town of Kagara in Niger state before hauling students into a nearby forest, a government official and a security source said.

“Bandits went into GSC Kagara last night and kidnapped hundreds of students and their teachers,” said the official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “One of the kidnapped staff and some students managed to escape.

The staff confirmed a student was shot dead during the kidnap operation,” the official said. Meanwhile, reports have it that the Niger state government has ordered the closure of all boarding schools in the state following the abduction of the schoolboys.