Eight secondary school students kidnapped by gunmen in Kaduna state two weeks ago escaped from their captors and were found by villagers who alerted security forces on Tuesday, the state's internal security commissioner said.

Armed gangs operating mostly in remote parts of northwest Nigeria have carried out violent attacks against villagers, schools and motorists, abducting hundreds for ransom.

The female students were seized by an armed gang on their way from school along with an unknown number of others, authorities said on April 4.

Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna commissioner for internal security and home affairs, said the students escaped from a forest between Kaduna and neighbouring Niger state and walked for days before being found by some villagers.

They were taken to a military facility in Kaduna to receive medical attention.

Reuters