Tragic, a gunmen in Nigeria abducted more than 80 Islamic school students in northwestern Katsina state Saturday night.

The foiled abduction comes less than two days after the release of 344 schoolboys who were kidnapped in the same area on Dec. 11.

The incidents have highlighted the insecurity in northern Nigeria.

Saturday night’s attempted kidnapping took place in Dandume, about 64 kilometers (40 miles) from Kankara, the town where the earlier kidnapping of schoolboys occurred.

The bandits had already abducted four people and stolen a dozen cows when they ran into the schoolchildren who were on their way home from a celebration, Katsina state police spokesman, Gambo Isa, said early Sunday morning.

Police and a local community self-defense group rescued the children from the bandits after a gunfight.

“The teams succeeded in dislodging the bandits and rescued all the 84 kidnapped victims and recovered all the 12 rustled cows.” said Isa in a statement.

Dandume, an area bordering the northern part of Kaduna state, is one of the region’s hotspots for banditry and kidnapping, according to residents.