More than 280 Nigerian school pupils have been abducted in the north-western town of Kuriga, officials say.
The pupils were in the assembly ground around 08:30 (07:30 GMT) when dozens of gunmen on motorcycles rode through the school, one witness said.
The students, between the ages of eight and 15, were taken away, along with a teacher, they added.
Kidnap gangs, known as bandits, have seized thousands of people in recent years, especially the north-west.
However, there had been a reduction in the mass abduction of children over the past year until this week.
Those kidnapped are usually freed after a ransom is paid.
The mass abduction was confirmed by Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna state, which includes Kuriga.
He said 187 students had gone missing from a secondary school and 125 from the local primary school but that 25 had since returned.
President Bola Tinubu said he was “confident that the victims will be rescued”.
