Hundreds of students missing after attack on Nigerian school

Protesters call on Nigeria's government to rescue girls kidnapped by extremist group Boko Haram from a school in Chibok in 2014. Photo / AP

Hundreds of students are feared missing after armed men attacked a boarding school in Nigeria, The Guardian reports.

Residents of north-western Katsina state reported hearing gunfire at the Government Science secondary school at about 11pm on Friday. The attack reportedly lasted for more than an hour.

Security staff at the school tried to fend off the attackers before police arrived, officials said.

More than 200 students were rescued by police, but hundreds more were missing, two local people told the Reuters news agency.

Nigeria's army and air force had reportedly joined the search for the missing students.

Chaotic scenes unfolded at the school as parents arrived and frantically searched for their children. Some students managed to escape the gunmen by climbing over the school's fence and fleeing, police said.

Katsina, the home state of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, has been plagued by violent bandits who attack and kidnap people for ransom.

Image / Google Earth

Attacks by Islamist militants are common in north-eastern parts of the country.

In 2014, more than 270 girls were kidnapped by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram from a school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the Katsina attack.