The Katsina State Police Command has rescued 30 out of 40 people abducted by gunmen at a mosque in Jibiya Local Government Area of northwestern Nigeria.
The victims were abducted in a mosque by gunmen at Kwata community in the early hours of Monday morning while the victims were holding midnight prayers, known as Tahajjud.
Tahajjud is a special Islamic prayer mostly held during the Ramadan fast and is done after the last night prayer (Isha), and before the early morning prayer (Fajr).
Police spokesman SP Gambo Isah told BBC security forces, vigilantes and the local community rallied and pursued the gunmen, which enabled them to rescue 30 of the abductees.
Isah said the police officers traced the gunmen and were found to have passed through Tsambe and headed for Dumburun in Zamfara State.
The police spokesman added that an investigation after the rescue operation revealed that there were 10 other people still unaccounted for.
He said they could not determine whether the remains were in the hands of gunmen or had escaped.
Isah said the rescued people had already returned to their families with no one shot or injured.
