France, Nov. 22 -- A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during Friday morning's raid on St Mary's co-education school in Nigeria's Niger State, in the central western part of the country.

The attack came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.

The students from St Mary's, which has a total student population of 629, were both male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.

Local police said they have deployed a team to rescue them.

Residents described scenes of panic as families searched for their missing children.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people had been abducted, but the figure was changed "after a...