Hundreds of schoolgirls have been kidnapped in the north-western state of Zamfara, the BBC has been told.
A teacher said that at least 300 learners were taken during the Friday morning attack.
A spokesman for the state’s governor has confirmed the attack but did not give details.
This is the latest mass abduction targeting schools in recent weeks. Armed gunmen often take schoolchildren for ransom.
The kidnapping of the schoolgirls came barely days after 27 students and some other persons were abducted in Kagara area of Niger State.
Efforts are ongoing to ensure the safe return of the students and others.
Although the bandits are said to be demanding ransom, government has vowed not to pay.
The government said it would deal decisively with them.
On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated the determination to rescue those abducted without paying ransom.
Speaking at a security meeting in Kaduna on Thursday, the president who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari said: “At the same time, we are confronting the various dimensions of security challenges that continue to slow down the emancipation of our people from poverty and economic deprivation. The Government shall continue to deal with insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals who constitute a threat to innocent citizens across the country.
“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly, without resorting to ethnic profiling. I have already tasked the new Service Chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals.”
