Kidnappers seize children from Nigeria school bus

ABUJA: Kidnappers attacked a Nigerian school bus and abducted five children along with their teachers, the school´s founder said on Tuesday as outrage grows over insecurity in the country.

Kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs is a major problem in Nigeria and the new government is facing an outcry over a recent spate of abductions.

The gunmen in southwestern Ekiti state shot the bus´s tyres and took the children captive on their way home from school on Monday afternoon, co-founder Gabriel Adesanya told AFP.

He said the Emure Apostolic Faith Primary School pupils aged between eight and 14 were still missing along with the bus driver, conductor and two teachers.

“I´ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “The parents are very worried.” Police confirmed the abduction and said they had sent officers “to ensure the victims are rescued and suspects arrested”.

Footage shared online -- which AFP has not been able to verify -- showed an empty school bus and abandoned belongings. “There is no security in our country,” a man at the scene says in the clip.