Nigeria College Attacked: At Least 40 Killed

Suspected Islamist militants reportedly fire on students in Nigeria as they storm a dormitory and set classrooms ablaze.

Members of Boko Haram pictured in February

At least 40 people have been killed after suspected Islamist gunmen fired on students as they slept at a college in northeast Nigeria.

The attackers reportedly stormed a dormitory and set fire to classrooms in the assault which happened about 1am local time on Sunday in the town of Gujba in Yobe state.

Nigeria's military is blaming militants from the Boko Haram insurgent group for the atrocity at the College of Agriculture.

A source told the AFP news agency that 40 bodies had been brought to hospital.

College provost Molima Idi Mato said security forces were still recovering bodies so he could not give an exact number of dead but said up to 50 had been killed.

He also said about 1,000 students had fled the scene.

The college is about 25 miles from the scene of similar school attacks around Damaturu town.

There were no security forces stationed at the college despite government assurances, said Mr Mato.

Two weeks ago, state commission for education Mohammmed Lamin urged all schools to reopen and promising protection by soldiers and police.

Most schools in the area closed after militants killed 29 pupils and a teacher, burning some alive in their hostels at Mamudo outside Damaturu on July 6.

Northeast Nigeria is in a military state of emergency following an Islamic uprising by Boko Haram militants who have killed more than 1,700 people since 2010 in their quest for an Islamic state.

Yobe has seen a series of brutal attacks targeting students in recent months, all blamed on the group.

The name Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" and the group has repeatedly attacked schools, universities and colleges during its four-year insurgency.

The military has described the spate of recent attacks as a sign of desperation by the Islamists, claiming they only have the capacity to hit soft targets.

An offensive launched against Boko Haram in mid-May has decimated the group and scattered their fighters across remote parts of the northeast, the defence ministry has said.

Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but the group is believed to be made up of different factions with varying aims.