United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York, Nov 20, 2020. (Photo: Agencies)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned an incident where over 300 boys are feared abducted after armed gunmen stormed a school in Nigeria. The secretary-general also called for the children's safe return to their families after they went missing on Friday.

"The secretary-general calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the abducted children and for their safe return to their families. He reiterates that attacks on schools and other educational facilities constitute a grave violation of human rights. He urges the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible for this act to justice," the statement, which was released today, said.

"The secretary-general reaffirms the solidarity and support of the United Nations to the government and people of Nigeria in their fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime," it said.

In a separate statement, Marie-Pierre Poirier, the UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said the violence is a grim reminder that abductions of children and widespread grave violations of children's rights continue to take place in northern Nigeria.

"Children should feel safe at home, in schools and in their playgrounds at all times. We stand with the families of the missing children and the community affected by this horrifying event," Poirier said.

On Monday, parents converged on the secondary school in Nigeria's northwest Katsina state, begging authorities to save the hundreds of boys abducted by gunmen.

In February 2018, Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped over 100 school girls from a secondary school in the town of Dapchi, in northeast Nigeria. Six years ago, in 2014, the militant group abducted 276 girls from their school dormitory in Chibok. Many of them remain missing.