Nigeria university kidnappers shoot dead 3 captive students, says state official

Gunmen have shot dead three students they abducted from a northern Nigerian university, a state security official said on Friday, though the kidnappers still hold an unknown number of captives.

On Tuesday, armed men stormed Greenfield University in Kaduna state, killing one person and abducting a number of students, the latest in a series of kidnappings at educational institutes.

"In an act of mindless evil and sheer wickedness, the armed bandits who kidnapped students of Greenfield University have shot dead three of the abducted students," said Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna's commissioner for its state ministry of internal security and home affairs.

The remains of the students were found earlier on Friday, Aruwan said.

A university spokesman confirmed the killings but said they were yet to issue a statement.

Armed groups have repeatedly struck northern Nigerian schools and universities since December, abducting more than 700 students for ransom.

The government and security forces have largely been unable to stop the attacks as they struggle to contain worsening violence and criminality across the West African country.

Reuters