People in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, were questioning the government on Wednesday after 24 schoolgirls were abducted by gunmen earlier this week in a northwestern region of the country.

The girls were kidnapped from their dormitory before dawn on Monday, when gunmen attacked their boarding school, the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, in the town of Maga in Nigeria’s Kebbi state.

Local police said the gunmen scaled the fence to enter the school premises and exchanged gunfire with police officers before seizing the girls and killing a staff member.

"I would say they don’t really know what they are doing in the government. It’s better for them to just resign and just leave," said Ogundinmu Peter, an IT expert.

Bright Godwin, a marketing specialist, said he had little faith in the government.

“The goal of every government and why they have been put in power is to protect the interest of the nation and then to protect the life of its citizens," said Godwin.

"Now, these children are the future of our nation, Nigeria and if such thing is happening, and we are not seeing tangible results, it shows that the competency of the government is not as it supposed to be."

Nigeria's president Bola Tinubu postponed his trip to this weekend's Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, after promising to intensify efforts to rescue the students.

Tinubu had been set to leave for South Africa on Wednesday, days before the summit of the world's leading rich and developing nations was due to begin.

But Tinubu said that he was suspending his departure in light of the abductions and a separate church attack in which gunmen killed two people, spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said in a statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for taking the girls, but analysts and locals said gangs of bandits often target schools, travelers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransoms.

Authorities said the gunmen were mostly former herders who had taken up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over strained resources.

Civil society leaders have accused security forces of inaction.

Mass school kidnappings are especially common in northern Nigeria, and the Kebbi school is close to conflict hot spots including Zamfara and Sokoto states, where several gangs are known to operate and hide out.

Security forces and hunters, meanwhile, have intensified efforts to find and rescue the girls, local officials said.

Security teams swept nearby forests, where gangs often hide, while others were deployed along major roads leading to the school.

At least 1,500 students have been seized in the region since Boko Haram jihadi extremists seized 276 Chibok schoolgirls over a decade ago.

But bandits are also active in the region, and analysts said gangs often target schools to gain attention.