Gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped 52 students from a Catholic school in Niger state, local TV station Arise News reported on Friday.
A statement from the Niger state government confirmed there had been a kidnapping but said the number of abducted pupils was still being checked.
"The Niger State Government has received with deep sadness the disturbing news of the kidnapping of pupils from St. Mary's School," the statement said, adding that security agencies were searching for the students.
Nigeria has witnessed a spate of attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping on Monday of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in Kebbi state.
Niger state police said its tactical units and the military have been deployed to search for the pupils.
In a separate attack on a church in western Nigeria on Tuesday, gunmen killed two people during a service that was recorded and broadcast online.
A church official told Reuters on Friday that the gunmen also kidnapped 38 worshippers and are demanding a ransom of 100 million naira (roughly $69,000) per worshipper.
The attacks have shone a spotlight on insecurity in the West African country and forced President Bola Tinubu to postpone foreign trips.
