Gunmen abduct dozens of villagers in northern Nigeria

Gunmen in north-west Nigeria's Katsina State have abducted at least 50 civilians from a village.

Residents of Bakiyawa said the attackers arrived in the middle of the night on motorbikes.

They then opened fire killing one person and wounding at least seven others.

A police spokesperson said security forces had clashed with the heavily armed gunmen. They however failed to prevent the kidnappings.

The authorities said efforts were under way to track down the attackers and rescue the hostages.

Katsina is President Muhammadu Buhari's home state. He is facing criticism for the Nigerian government’s failure to tackle widespread insecurity including frequent kidnappings for ransom.