More than 200 schoolchildren have been seized by gunmen who attacked a Catholic school in northcentral Nigeria's Niger state, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The gunmen who invaded the St Mary's School in the Agwara local government's Papiri community seized 215 pupils and students as well as 12 teachers, said Daniel Atori, a spokesperson to the Niger state chapter of CAN.

"I have just got back to the village this night after I visited the school where I also met with parents of the children to assure them that we are working with the government and security agencies to see that our children are rescued and brought back safely," he said in a statement.

The Niger State Police Command said the abductions took place in the early hours on Friday, and that military and sec

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