A mother said 16-year-old senior secondary school two student was amongst those abducted at the college.

“Security personnel have started investigation and search for the girls and the two staff members that were kidnapped,” Mr Allah-Yaro said.

He added that the Kaduna State commissioner in charge of security had arrived the scene and coordinating rescue efforts with security.

The school official confirmed six students and two staff members abducted.

A spokesperson for the police in Kaduna, Yakubu Sabo, said in a statement  that multiple units of the police have been activated in the wake of the attack.

The police anti-kidnapping unit, the special anti-robbery squad and conventional police have all been “mobilised to the area for possible rescue of the victims and arresting the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident” he said. “Intelligent Response Team (IRT) has been contacted for technical support.”

The police spokesperson urged private school authorities to ensure prompt report of “suspicious persons” around their premises “to forestall future occurrence of ugly incidents.”