The schoolgirls were taken from their hostels by gunmen who raided the Government Girls’ Secondary School in the town of Jangebe, a senior government official with knowledge of the incident told CNN.
According to the source, a police officer was killed in the attack, who did not want to be named because he did not have permission to speak.
“They got on about 20 motorcycles and they marched the kidnapped girls into the woods,” the source said. “The bandits arrived around 1.45 am and they operated until about 3 am
“The sad thing is there is a military checkpoint about four minutes from the school,” he added.
Normally there are about 500 students at the boarding school, of which about 315 were taken by the gunmen. Others managed to flee and return to their inns, the source said.
A state police spokesman told CNN that a detailed statement would be released if they recapitulate what happened. He declined to comment on the number of students kidnapped during the incident.
Later on Friday, the force said in a statement that a “heavily armed” joint search and rescue operation had been launched.
The distraught parents of some of the school girls spoke to CNN on Friday, with one of them saying her daughter had apparently been grabbed in her pajamas.
“My daughter is one of those who was taken away because I saw her things left behind,” Jummai Haruna, mother of Hafsat Abubakar, told CNN.
“I believe she was taken away wearing only her sleeping clothes because I found her hijab and her school uniform.”
“I miss her so much already. Nobody has told me anything about my daughter’s whereabouts. She has always been with me. Her father died while I was pregnant with her. Now I don’t know what to do,” said Haruna . .
Narama Umar’s niece, Asmau Lawali, 14, is also one of the missing.
“The government should please help bring our daughters back. There were a lot of parents at school who were crying. This is very sad, we want our daughters back,” Umar told CNN.
Another resident, Safiyanu Jangebi, told CNN that he had heard gunshots at the time of the kidnapping and described how on-site spectators collided with police.
“There are policemen all over the school, the youngsters are angry and now throw stones at the police. The wife of the governor was also here. They also threw stones at her, singing ‘Allah will punish you’ and ‘We will punish you. don’t forgive., ” said Jangebi.
Amnesty International said the incident amounted to a “war crime.”
The latest kidnapping comes barely two weeks after at least 42 people, including college students, were kidnapped in a similar raid on a public school in Niger’s Middle Belt region of Niger. In the attack, a student was killed, while 27 students, three teachers and nine family members were kidnapped. Their current whereabouts are unknown.
UNICEF expressed concern on Friday about reports of the nighttime attack.
“We are angry and saddened by yet another brutal attack on school children in Nigeria,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Nigeria.
“This is a gross violation of the rights of the child and a horrifying experience for children – one that could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and well-being. We condemn the attack completely and call on those responsible to immediately take the girls and to the government to take steps to ensure their safe release and the safety of all other school children in Nigeria. “
“Children should always feel safe at home and at school – and parents don’t have to worry about the safety of their children when they send them to school in the morning,” said Hawkins.
Many parents are concerned about the safety of their children in schools in northern Nigeria.
The most prominent cases of school kidnapping in the country were those of Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April 2014.