Gunmen kidnapped five female students from a university in the Nigerian northwestern state of Katsina on Wednesday, multiple media outlets reported.
The five were taken from Federal University in Dutsin-Ma town early in the day, the latest kidnapping incident in the West African nation that has witnessed a string of abductions for ransom that have grabbed global headlines.
Often, kidnappers target students, religious persons and foreigners then seek ransom for their release.
The vice has remained rampant in the northwestern part of the country due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms.
Police have launched a manhunt for the attackers as they try to rescue the victims.
The latest kidnapping comes barely two weeks after 24 other female students were abducted from their hostel at the Federal University Gusau, in Zamfara state. 16 of the students were successfully rescued following an operation by security operatives.
According to a report released in August by aid agency, Save the Children, more than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in the West African country since the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State.
The report pointed out that in addition to the abductions, over 180 schoolchildren were killed and nearly 90 injured in 70 attacks between April 2014 and December 2022, with an estimated 60 school staff kidnapped and 14 killed.
