Armed group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abduction, AFP news agency reports.

Authorities say all schools in Katsina state are closed while the military pursues the attackers and searches for the students.

#BringBackOurBoys was trending online as public outrage grew over the attack.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Borno state.

Six years later more than 100 of the girls are still missing.

This video was edited by Al Jazeera Newsfeed’s Hassan Ghani.