“Gunmen raided an off-campus residence in northwest Nigeria and kidnapped seven students. The attack occurred on early Wednesday (June 3, 2026) in the Kaura Namoda area of conflict-battered Zamfara state,” police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said in a statement.

One of the students escaped and was in custody. The police spokesman said it wasn’t clear where the students were taken but efforts were under way to rescue the remaining six. Zamfara has been a hotspot for armed gangs that carry out kidnappings for ransom, with abductions of students increasing in recent years across the country.

A tally by local news outlet Premium Times found that at least 1,900 students have been kidnapped from 20 schools since the 2014 mass abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state.