Gunmen abduct worshippers from Nigeria mosque: police

"The developing report indicated that no life was lost, while joint security detachment has been deployed to the ⁠area for assessment and ‌rescue ​operations," Abiodun said in a statement.

He said police could not ​confirm figures.

Local ‌residents told Reuters that more than 60 worshippers were ​kidnapped in the attack which appeared co-ordinated and occurred simultaneously in Dekara and three other ​communities ​in Borgu while residents ​were observing Friday prayers. 

A search for survivors was underway.

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

"People were abducted while praying at a Juma'at mosque on Friday," Nasir said. "That was when the bad people came and surrounded the mosque and took them away."

Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where heavily armed criminal gangs, locally known ​as bandits, frequently raid villages, schools and highways.

with AP