Hundreds of schoolgirls have been kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria

According to a police statement released on Friday, 317 students went missing from the Jangebe Government Girls’ Secondary School in Zamfara.

It is thought that unknown gunmen took the girls during the night, moving some victims were taken away in vehicles and others on foot.

The incident, confirmed later by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is being investigated as security personnel hunt the local area.

This comes as the second school kidnapping in just over a week.

Last week, 42 people were kidnapped from a boarding school by unidentified assailants in Niger. The hostages, including 27 students and one dead boarder, were taken at midnight and have yet to be released.

Kidnappings by armed groups have become a daily occurrence in the north of Nigeria and have lead to a deterioration of security and protection within the region.