At least 36 children and a staff member are missing after being kidnapped by gunmen from a school in Nigeria's northeast, the third such mass school abduction since ​May in Africa's most populous country.

Here are some of the worst of ‌recent years:

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June 29, 2026 - Gunmen burst into a secondary school in Borno state and abducted students sitting exams. Authorities said eight had been rescued.

May 2026 - Armed men kidnapped at least 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers in the ​southwestern Oyo state, killing one teacher in captivity and wounding security personnel during ​a rescue attempt. The children and teachers remain in captivity.

May 2026 - Suspected ⁠militants abducted 42 students from a primary and junior secondary school in Borno. They remain ​missing.

November 2025 - Gunmen took 12 staff members from a Catholic school in Niger State. ​The children and staff regained their freedom after a month.

November 2025 - In Kebbi state, gunmen killed the vice principal and took 25 students. The girls were later released.

March 2024 - ​Gunmen seized more than in Kaduna state. The government denied paying a ransom.

July 2021 - About were kidnapped when armed men raided a ‌Baptist ⁠school in Kaduna state. The students were released in batches after ransom payments.

May 2021 - Gunmen abducted from an Islamic school in Niger state. Six of the pupils died in captivity, 15 escaped, and the rest were released after three months.

February 2021 - At least 279 girls ​were kidnapped by ​gunmen from a government ⁠school in Zamfara state and force-marched into a forest. They were released after a few days, during which they were beaten.

December 2020 - Armed men abducted from a boarding school ​in northern Katsina state. The Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram claimed responsibility before the students were freed by Nigerian security forces a week later.

Back in April 2014, Boko Haram's abduction of 276 ⁠girls from ​a government school in Borno's Chibok brought such kidnappings ​to international attention and prompted the launch of the "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign. At least 89 girls remain unaccounted ​for, according to the non-profit Murtala Muhammed Foundation.