ABUJA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Five people were abducted by gunmen who stormed an all-girl school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara on late Wednesday, local police said on Thursday.
The police said two kitchen staff of the Government Girls Secondary School in Zurmi area of the state and their three children were taken away by the gunmen.
"The gunmen entered the school through the back fence with intent to attack the school and abduct students," Shehu said.
No student, however, was among those kidnapped by the gunmen who attacked the school, police spokesman Muhammad Shehu told Xinhua.
The police are collaborating with the school management to establish the whereabouts of the missing persons.
No armed group in the country has so far claimed responsibility for the abduction.
A search party is combing the surrounding bushes for the victims, while security has been beefed up in the school and its environs to forestall future occurrence, the police spokesman added.
Last month, the Nigerian military launched a full-scale offensive against armed groups operating in Zamfara. The offensive is part of sustained efforts to flush out "banditry and criminality" in the state in particular and the northwest region in general.
The state of Zamfara, as well as neighboring Kaduna state, have witnessed a series of attacks by armed groups in recent months.
There have also been recurring incidents of livestock rustling and armed banditry in the region.
