Gunmen kidnapped four University of Abuja employees and their children on Tuesday, the university claimed, in an unusual kidnapping at such a prominent institution in Nigeria’s capital.
Late last year, armed gangs known as bandits kidnapped students from schools and attacked villages around the country, especially in the northwest, in exchange for ransom.
Individuals have been kidnapped on the outskirts of Abuja, but attacks on colleges are uncommon.
“Suspected bandits attacked the staff quarters of the university in the early hours of today. We have report that four of our staff and their children were, nevertheless, abducted,” the university said on its Facebook page.
A source at the university told Reuters that one staff member was taken together with his son and daughter.
Nigeria’s security forces are stretched on several fronts, including growing lawlessness in the north and northwest and a 12-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast that has killed thousands.