Police on Wednesday confirmed an attack by gunmen at a university in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria on Tuesday evening, with an unknown number of students kidnapped.

A group of unidentified gunmen attacked Greenfield University, which is located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway in Chikun local government area, at about 8:35 p.m. local time on Tuesday, state police spokesperson Mohammed Jalige said in a short statement.

A search and rescue operation has been launched.