Nigeria, June 10 -- A leaked State Security Service (SSS) intelligence report has warned of a planned mass abduction of schoolchildren in parts of Edo State, raising fresh concerns about security in a state already grappling with a wave of kidnappings.

Following the report, the Edo State Government ordered the immediate closure of three secondary schools in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area.

The directive was contained in a circular dated 9 June and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Education, Enodolomwanyi Otamere.

The confidential SSS memo, dated 5 June and addressed to the the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Edo, warned that suspected bandits were plotting to target schools, particularly i...