Gunmen kidnap government school principal

KANO: Gunmen on Thursday kidnapped a school principal in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state, his deputy said, a week after six female students and two staff at another school were seized for ransom.

Around 20 assailants stormed the Government Technical Secondary School in Kajuru overnight and hauled away Francis Maji, deputy principal Andrew Auta told AFP.

“The gunmen came into the school at midnight and headed to the principal’s house, where they beat the security guard and tied him up,” he said.

Auta said the kidnappers opened fire on the house when Maji refused to open the door and then “seized him” as he tried to sneak away.

The school’s students were said to have fled into the bush on hearing gunshots.

Auta believed the abduction was for ransom, although the kidnappers were yet to make any contact with either the school or the family.

The police were not immediately available to comment on the incident.

Kajuru, which lies 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Kaduna city, is a notorious hub for kidnapping and banditry.

In April, gunmen killed two British aid workers and kidnapped three people from a hotel in the town.

The latest raid on a school comes after gunmen broke into a mixed boarding school a week ago just south of Kaduna and abducted six female students and two staff.

State governor Nasiru el-Rufai told reporters in Abuja the kidnappers had already demanded ransom for the release of the hostages.

Abductions for ransom have become a major problem across Nigeria with swathes of the country and key roads targeted by armed groups.