A Federal Government delegation including National Security Adviser (NSA) Mohammed Babagana Monguno and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu are currently in Minna, Niger State capital.
Also part of the delegation is the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; and the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi.
The delegation is in Niger State as efforts to rescue the abducted students of the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State, intensify
President Muhammadu Buhari has also dispatched to Minna, Niger State a delegation team of security chiefs to coordinate the rescue operation and meet with state officials, community leaders, as well as parents and staff of the College.
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Some gunmen had earlier on Wednesday morning gained access to the school around 2:00 am, dressed in military uniform, shooting sporadically into the air.
The school principal who escaped from the attack confirmed to Newsmen that the operation started from the staff quarters where they abducted members of staff including a couple before they gained access to the students’ hostels.
Other sources say some students escaped after the raid while a headcount is being conducted at the school to ascertain the actual number of missing students.
Abdullberqy Ebbo, director general, strategic operation of Niger state in a tweet said “one student was shot by the bandits and lost his life”.
He added that three staff of the school and 12 members of their families were also among the kidnapped.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ibrahim Matane, Niger State government secretary, told BBC News Pidgin that armed men had attacked the Government Science College in Kagara, about 260km (160 miles) northwest of the Nigerian capital Abuja, at approximately 3am (02:00 GMT).
The attackers, dressed in military uniforms and masks, stormed the school hostels to take away children, local media reported, adding that some of the children escaped during the incident.
Government Science College has a student body of about a thousand.
School authorities have begun a headcount to determine the exact number of missing children.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned “the cowardly attack on innocent school children.”
“The President has directed the Armed Forces and Police, to ensure immediate and safe return of all the captives,” Garba Shehu, president’s spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.
No group has claimed responsibility.
The incident comes hours after bandits released a video of more than 20 people abducted from a commercial bus near Zungeru town in Niger state.
It raises growing concerns about security and violence in the country’s north.
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