More than 24 students of the Federal University of Gusau were abducted in the early hours of Friday after bandits invaded the Sabon-Gida community of the Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

A student of the school, who asked to be anonymous for security reasons, told press that over 24 schoolmates, mostly ladies, were abducted during the attack.

A resident of Sabon-Gida identified as Nazeer Sabon-Gida confirmed that the gunmen invaded the community around 3 am and started shooting indiscriminately.

According to him, three students’ hostels were attacked and all the students in the hostels were taken away by the bandits.

“They entered the town around 3 am and started shooting indiscriminately,” he said.

“We have yet to confirm the number of students kidnapped because the bandits entered three hostels and kidnapped all the students there. It is difficult to ascertain their numbers now.”

Another source told Channels Television that the bandits were engaged with troops of the Nigerian Army in a fierce gun battle but that did not stop the bandits from escaping with the kidnapped victims.

“They were seriously engaged with the army troops but the way these bandits operate, they will divide themselves into two, one group will move with the kidnapped victims while the other will stay behind to protect the first group,” he said.

“The first group had left with the students while the second group engaged the army in a gun duel.”

In June, some students of the university protested the spate of abductions involving their schoolmates in Sabon-Gida and Damba.

Sabon-Gida village is a community opposite the main campus of the Federal University of Gusau that is about 20 km to the state capital, Gusau.

Efforts to reach the school authorities were not successful as the spokesperson for the school, Umar Usman, did not respond to several phone calls to him by our correspondent.

Similarly, the police command in the state has yet to comment on the latest attack.