UPDATE 4-No children missing after gunmen raid Nigerian primary school - security commissioner

* Three primary school teachers abducted by armed gang
* Gunmen kidnapped 39 college students last week
* Fifth such abduction in lawless north since December
* First primary school targeted in wave of kidnappings

(Adds kidnap figures)
By Garba Muhammad
KADUNA, Nigeria, March 15 (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorbikes
stormed a primary school in the northwestern Nigerian state of
Kaduna and kidnapped three teachers but no children, a state
official said on Monday after the fifth school abduction in
three months.
It was the first attack on an elementary school in a wave of
such attacks in which more than 700 people have been abducted
since December.
Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna state's commissioner for internal
security, said in a press briefing that Rema Primary School, in
the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, was attacked at around
8:50am (0750 GMT) on Monday.
He said children fled as gunmen, referred to locally as
bandits, entered the compound shortly after pupils arrived.
"This led to two pupils going missing. We are happy to
inform you that the two missing pupils have been found," Aruwan
said. "We can also confirm that no single pupil was kidnapped
from the school.
"The government can confirm that three teachers... have been
kidnapped."
Nigeria's kidnapping scourge began with the seizure of 270
girls from a school in the northeastern town of Chibok by the
Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram in 2014. Around 100 of the
schoolgirls have never been found.
Armed criminal gangs in Nigeria's widely lawless north have
since carried out many copycat attacks seeking ransom.
The presidency said late in February that President
Muhammadu Buhari had urged state governments to "review their
policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning
that the policy might boomerang disastrously".
Attempts by the military and police to tackle the gangs have
had little success, while many worry that state authorities are
making the situation worse by letting kidnappers go unpunished,
paying them off or providing incentives.
Nigeria's federal government has said it will "take out"
abductors after criticising local deals to free victims.
A presidency spokesman said he did not have the details of
Monday's kidnapping.
Armed men attempted to kidnap more students in Kaduna state
overnight on Sunday, as 39 others from an earlier attack in the
state remain missing.
The rampant banditry has become a political problem for
Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has
faced mounting criticism over the rise in violent crime, and
replaced his long-standing military chiefs earlier this year.
Buhari held talks with security officials and regional
elders last week about Nigeria's multiple security challenges.
Afterwards, national security adviser Babagana Monguno said the
government would take a tough stance against criminal gangs.

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FACTBOX-The Nigerian schools hit by mass abductions
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