Key facts
- Gunmen attacked a school in Kogi state, Nigeria, on Wednesday.
- Three people, including a school vice principal, a 70-year-old man, and a 6-year-old child, were killed.
- Security forces engaged the attackers, killing one suspected assailant.
- Investigations are ongoing into possible student kidnappings.
Gunmen killed three people, including a school vice principal, a 70-year-old man, and a 6-year-old child, during an attack on a school in Nigeria's central Kogi state on Wednesday. The assault, carried out by individuals on approximately 40 motorcycles who stormed the Iluke Bunu community and its secondary school, was repelled by joint security forces comprising police, military, and local vigilantes.
During a gun battle, security personnel forced the attackers to flee into nearby bush, killing one suspected assailant. One security operative sustained injuries. While authorities stated there was no conclusive evidence of mass abduction, investigations are ongoing, and a resident suggested some students might have been kidnapped, though this remains unverified.
School kidnappings are a persistent security challenge in Nigeria, predominantly occurring in the northwest region where armed criminal gangs abduct students for ransom. Dozens of students remain missing after a kidnapping in southwestern Oyo state last month.