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After several students were kidnapped in Nigeria, the authorities put the number at 42.
A spokesman for the state of Niger told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that 27 school boys, three teachers and twelve relatives of teachers were in the hands of the kidnappers.
A student was shot dead Wednesday night in the attack on a boarding school in the city of Kagara, Niger state.
At the time of the attack, there were at least 650 students in the building.
The attackers, who wore military uniforms, are believed to be members of a criminal gang.
The attack took place early in the morning in the central state of Niger.
Uniformed attackers with assault rifles broke into the science college building of the state school in Kagara.
The background was initially unclear, details are expected later in the day.
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Almost two months ago, the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped several hundred schoolchildren in the northern Nigerian state of Katsina, but released them a week later.
It remained unclear whether the ransom was paid.
Boko Haram and splinter groups have been terrorizing northern Nigeria's population for years.
In April 2014, they abducted 276 girls in a similar manner from a school in Chibok.
The act caused international horror and triggered a solidarity campaign for the release of the girls, supported by many celebrities.