Armed bandits abducted two students from the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State on Saturday evening, according to eyewitness accounts.

The students, a male and a female, were abducted from their off-campus hostel in the Sabon Garin Damba area of Gusau, the state capital, around 9pm.

Residents said the bandits invaded the community a few minutes after 8pm and shot sporadically to scare residents.

Security personnel fired several gunshots in an attempt to repel the attackers, but the bandits managed to escape with the two students.

Combined security forces of police and soldiers are currently on the trail of the bandits, according to a resident who pleaded anonymity for security reasons.

According to Channels TV, efforts to reach the spokesperson for the state police command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, for comment were unsuccessful.

The abduction of the two students is the latest in a series of attacks on schools in Zamfara State. In September, students were abducted from the Federal University Gusau, and 21 of them are still in captivity.