Over 50 students missing as gunmen attack Katsina school

Yusuf Bello| More than 50 students are believed to be missing following an attack by suspected gunmen at a secondary school in Katsina State.

According to reports, heavily armed gunmen on Friday night stormed Government Science Secondary School in Ƙanƙara Local Government Area of the state of Katsina state.

Students, teachers, and staff members to flee for their lives when the gunmen stormed the school.

According to a member of the school staff, headcount conducted by the school on Saturday revealed that 54 out of the 884 students before the attack could not be accounted for.

The spokesperson of the Police Command in the state, Gambo Isah, and the principal of the school, Usman Abubakar, told newsmen earlier on Saturday that 200 of the students who fled for safety were found by the divisional police officer in the area and returned.

According to Isah, the police received report of the attack around 11:30 pm. and policemen who were stationed at the school battled to stop the attack.

“There was exchange of fire between our policemen and the bandits. In fact, they shot one of our policemen and he has been taken to the hospital and is responding to treatment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Masari has ordered the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools in the state following the attack.

The governor’s spokesman, Abdu Labaran, in a statement, said the governor took the decision on Saturday morning when he, his deputy, Mannir Yakubu, and other government officials visited the school.

According to Labaran, the governor met with some parents, traditional, religious leaders, and security officials at the school and promised them that the government will do everything necessary to ensure all students return safely.