Desperate parents have gathered at the Government Science School in Nigeria and are demanding answers on what has happened to their children.

Armed men stormed the school with about 800 students late on Friday night and abducted several hundred schoolboys in the state of Katsina. 

Authorities say they have located what they call "bandits", exchanged fire with them and surrounded the area where they are. 

How many are still missing and how many managed to escape during the kidnapping is still unclear, but almost half of the school's students are still missing.

Security situation worsened

President Muhammadu Buhari himself comes from the state of Katsina, and happened to be only a few hundred kilometers from the school when the kidnapping took place. 

Nigeria's security situation has worsened in recent times, and anger over the government's inability to do anything is growing.

In late November, several farmers in the northeastern state of Borno were killed.

Conflicts between shepherds and farmers have flared up in the northwest as the struggle for land and water becomes increasingly fierce.

The conflicts have led to the formation of criminal gangs, but never before have they kidnapped school children. 

State schools have been closed

Kidnappings have become more common, and abducting hundreds of school children is a well-known tactic in Nigeria.

In 2014, Islamist Boko Haram abducted almost 300 schoolgirls in the city of Chibok, and also abducted more than 100 girls in Dapchi a couple of years ago, also in the northeastern part of the country.

In the southern parts of the country, there are unrest at the oil areas, where some groups want more of the income the oil generates in the region. 

The kidnappers in the northwest usually want ransoms, and the hope is now that the drama can be solved quickly.

All state schools in the state have been closed anyway because the motive is unclear and no group has taken on the kidnapping. 

Around 1,100 people were killed by various criminal gangs in northern Nigeria during the first half of 2020, according to Amnesty International.

One of the students who managed to escape the kidnappers is Usama Aminu - hear him tell about the horror experience in the clip above.