It wasn't immediately confirmed who the attackers were or the number of students abducted at St. Mary’s School in Niger state's Papiri community. Local media broadcaster Arise TV said that 52 schoolchildren were seized.
Friday's attack happened three days after 25 students were abducted in neighboring Kebbi state.
The kidnappings are happening amid U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for Nigeria to do more to stop the abductions and murders of Christians in the West African country.
The Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, has long menaced large parts of Nigeria’s north, especially the northeast, as well as parts of neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The terrorist group has sought to impose an Islamic state in the region and its name — meaning “books are forbidden” — rejects Western education.
In 2014, Boko Haram burst onto the global stage with the Chibok abduction. Four years later, its fighters abducted 110 schoolgirls from a college in Yobe state in the northeast.
The terrorists have mounted a strong resurgence this year after splitting in the past, with many fighters now aligned with a local affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group. The exact number of fighters with each group is unknown, though they are estimated in the low thousands.
