UP TO 80 people were kidnapped from a mosque in a spree of abductions in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state, police say.

The assailants attacked a mosque in Kpenya after attacks in a string of villages in the remote Borgu local government area, police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks.

Mr Abiodun did not provide figures but said no lives were lost, and said the military was deployed to the area. 

Residents said scores of people were abducted, with some estimating between 60 and 80 people were kidnapped. A search for survivors was underway on Saturday.

Borgu area council chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir said at least 60 people were kidnapped and many people sustained gunshot injuries while trying to escape the gunmen.

“People were abducted while praying at a Juma’at mosque on Friday,” Mr Nasir said. 

Zubairu Umar Talba, a youth leader in the Dekara area in Borgu, said his father was among those who were taken. 

“Nobody can tell you the exact number of people abducted because, so far, about 80 of our people have been abducted and many have fled the area,” he said.