Nigeria, Feb. 26 -- At least 317 schoolgirls were abducted by bandits in the Friday morning raid on Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State, the police have said.

Residents said the bandits woke up people in the neighbourhood as they raided the school, shooting into the air for over two hours.

The latest attack is the third mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in the last three months in Northern Nigeria, raising fears among Nigerians in rural communities.

"317 students were kidnapped by the armed bandits in Government Girls Science Secondary School Jangebe in Talata Mafara," Mohammad Shehu, the police spokesperson in the state told PREMIUM TIMES.

He said the police and the military had begun a joint search for the st...