Nigerian security forces have rescued students kidnapped from a university in northern Kogi state, along with other victims held by the abductors, the army and state government said on Sunday.

Kogi information commissioner Kingsley Femi Fanwo said security forces were involved in a shootout with the armed gang that carried out Thursday's abduction at Confluence University of Science and Technology.

The state had enlisted the help of local hunters who know the Kogi terrain, and a security agent and hunter were wounded.

The Nigerian army said in a separate statement that troops, other security agencies and local vigilantes were involved in "a fierce firefight" with the kidnappers.

"The superior firepower of the troops led to the kidnappers abandoning nine of the kidnapped students, who were subsequently rescued," the army said.