Dozens of schoolchildren abducted again in Nigeria but rescued swiftly

Gunmen in Nigeria abducted more than 80 Islamic school students in northwestern Katsina state overnight, but the pupils were quickly rescued by security forces after a fierce gun battle, police has said.

The foiled abduction comes less than two days after the release of 344 schoolboys who were kidnapped in the same area on December 11. The incidents have highlighted the insecurity in northern Nigeria.

Saturday night's attempted kidnapping took place in Dandume, about 64 kilometres (40 miles) from Kankara, the town where the earlier kidnapping of schoolboys occurred.

The bandits had already abducted four people and stolen a dozen cows when they ran into the schoolchildren who were on their way home from a celebration, Katsina state police spokesman, Gambo Isah, said on Sunday.

Police and a local community self-defence group rescued the children from the bandits after a gunfight, he said.

“The teams succeeded in dislodging the bandits and rescued all the 84 kidnapped victims and recovered all the 12 rustled cows," Isah said in a statement. 

"Search parties are still combing the area with a view of arresting the injured bandits and/or the recovery of their dead bodies.”

READ MORE: Kidnapped boys freed in Nigeria arrive in Katsina city

Violence hotspot

Dandume, an area bordering the northern part of Kaduna state, is one of the region's hotspots for banditry and kidnapping, according to residents.

“Dandume is a no-go-area for many of us because of the high level of crimes and insecurity being perpetrated by armed bandits,” said Saidu Lawal, an official of a local civic group in Katsina, told The Associated Press.

“Despite government efforts to open up the area by constructing roads leading from the metropolitan locations to the hinterlands of Dandume ... the banditry still persists," said Lawal. 

"On many occasions, the bandits block the Dandume-Sabuwa highways to attack travellers. It was based on that reason that many people have abandoned the new route.”

READ MORE: Nigeria's kidnapping cartels thrive in the absence of governance