New Delhi, Nov. 22 -- Gunmen attacked a Catholic boarding school in a western region of Nigeria and abducted more than 200 schoolchildren Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria said, in the latest in a spate of abductions in Africa's most populous country.

The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary's School, a Catholic institution in the Agwara local government's Papiri community. Attackers seized 215 pupils and students as well as 12 teachers, said Daniel Atori, a spokesperson for the Niger state chapter of CAN.

"I just got back to the village tonight after I visited the school where I also met with parents," Atori said in a statement, quoting the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa, the CAN chairman in Niger. The statement added that th...