Armed bandits, yesterday, abducted students of Government Day Secondary School, Kaya community in Maradun Local Council of Zamfara State.

The number of students abducted is yet to be ascertained by the school authority, as there were conflicting figures from different sources.

Some sources hinted that the number could be more than 100, out of the over 300 students in the school. Another source later informed that some of the students, who escaped into surrounding bushes, were gradually finding their ways back to the school.

But the state’s police command said that 73 students were missing after the attack on the school.

Confirming the number, the Police Public relations Officer (PPRO), Mohammed Shehu, said security operatives had been deployed to the area for search-and-rescue operation.

He appealed to the general public, especially parents, to be patient and pray for the safe return of the students.

HOWEVER, Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of primary and secondary schools in the state.

The government also imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew throughout the 14 local councils in the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Elkana, conveyed the governor’s directive while addressing journalists on the new security measures in the state.

He said: “I wish to inform the general public that the governor has ordered the closure of all schools within the state, both primary and secondary, with immediate effect. This decision is indefinite.”

The latest kidnap is happening five days after the students of the College Of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura, earlier abducted in the state regained their freedom.