Residents say gunmen on motorbikes arrived in Maidabino village in Katsina state and started shooting sporadically.

State police spokesperson Abubakar Aliyu Sadiq confirmed the attack and the seven deaths, but would not say whether anyone was missing. He said police were investigating.

“The remaining men who did not flee are living in fear … and waiting to hear news about their abducted loved ones,” said Muhammad Sani, whose sister was abducted.

Residents said gunmen on motorbikes arrived in Maidabino village in the Danmusa local government area of Katsina, and started shooting sporadically, forcing residents to flee.

Hassan Aliyu told Reuters news agency by phone that the attack took residents by surprise and dozens of women and children were confirmed missing.

“They killed seven people, including burning two children,” Aliyu said. “They spent more than six hours destroying our properties.”

Auwalu Ismail, another resident, said the gunmen first blocked all roads leading to Maidabino before the attack.

“They burned down our shops, vehicles, and took away our livestock. They also kidnapped my wife and more than 100 women and children,” he said.

In recent years, such abductions have been concentrated in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions, where dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travellers for large ransoms.

In March, gunmen attacked a school in the northwestern state of Kaduna and kidnapped dozens of pupils as they were about to start the schoolday, according to local residents and authorities.

Last year, gunmen took more than 80 students in a raid on a school in the northwestern state of Kebbi.