Bandits killed a police officer and kidnapped an unspecified number of people on Monday in a gun attack in northern Nigeria, the latest abduction incident in a series of similar cases in the country.

According to local Channels television, the bandits raided Makera quarters, Kwakware Community along Katsina-Jibia Road at about 7:00 am local time. The attackers shot sporadically as they chased down a bus carrying some passengers.

A police officer who was nearby at the time attempted to thwart their efforts, but he was shot dead.

The bandits made away with an unspecified number of passengers, and their location was yet to be established at the time of publishing this piece.

Nigeria has been dogged by kidnappings for years, with the abductors often asking their victims' families for ransom in exchange for their freedom.

According to Nigeria-bases intelligence platform, SB Morgen, more than 3,000 people were kidnapped in Nigeria in the first half of 2021 alone.

The platform notes that some of the criminals behind the kidnappings are opportunistic while others are well organized. Militants, terrorists and insurgents use banditry to raise funds for their operations and as a bargaining strategy.