Boko Haram claims school kidnapping in northern Nigeria

ABUJA - Terror group Boko Haram on Tuesday claimed responsibility for abducting over 300 students in Nigeria's northwestern state of Katsina.

A total of 333 students from the Government Science Secondary School remain missing after the Friday night attack by gunmen on the boys' school.

In an audio message, a man identifying himself as Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed that the group is "behind what happened in Katsina", local media reported.

Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari on Monday confirmed that government negotiators are already in touch with the kidnappers, but he refused to disclose details of the negotiations as the authorities were trying to protect the victims and secure their release.

In response, the national union of Nigerian teachers on Tuesday threatened to down tools over recent attacks on schools.

Such incidents "are sad reminders of previous ugly events in Chibok and Dapchi, where Boko Haram terrorists had attacked and abducted students, creating a monumental disruption of school activities and impeding our nation's educational growth and advancement while subjecting family members and relatives to unimaginable trauma", the union said in a statement.