The Nigerian government has identified schools in at least 14 states and the capital, Abuja, as vulnerable to attacks following a renewed wave of mass abductions of students.

Hajia Halima Iliya, the national coordinator of state-run Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, said the agency had collected data to guide intervention measures.

The agency was formed after the 2014 abduction of hundreds of girls from Chibok in the north-eastern Borno state.

Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Yobe, Katsina, Abuja, Kebbi, Sokoto, Plateau and Zamfara are among the most vulnerable states, according to the agency.

This comes amidst a surge in kidnappings in Nigeria.

The country’s spate of abductions worsened on Saturday as more than a dozen students and four women were kidnapped from school in Gada, Sokoto.

Meanwhile, parents of the kidnapped students have urged the government to help secure their release.

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