Gunmen abduct at least 20 people in Nigeria hospital attack

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) – Gunmen have abducted at least 20 people and killed two in an attack on a hospital in Nigeria, hospital sources said on Wednesday.

Bandits attacked the Abdulsalam Abubakar General Hospital in Gulu, a town in Nigeria’s Niger state, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Among those abducted were a doctor, nurses and other staff members, as well as patients and their family members, hospital workers told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

Bandits have been particularly active in northwestern Nigeria in recent years, kidnapping and killing hundreds of people.

Abubakar Sani Bello, the state governor, confirmed the incident, but did not specify the number of people killed or abducted.

Apart from the hospital, the gunmen also attacked the adjoining staff residential quarters and took away people from their houses, the sources added.

“Security personnel fled because they were badly outnumbered. The attackers were here for hours and there was no one to stop them,” said a hospital worker.