Gunmen have kidnapped six people including four lecturers from the University of Abuja in Nigeria's capital.

The attackers invaded the living quarters of the university and abducted the victims in the early hours of Tuesday, the police said.

They reportedly overpowered guards at the institution before breaking into the lecturers' homes.

The university said on its Facebook page that four lecturers and their children were taken away by the attackers.

This is the closest that armed gangs, known locally as bandits, have gotten to the capital.

The university is located opposite a military facility near the Abuja airport.

Police said that security forces had been deployed on a manhunt to try to rescue the victims and arrest the bandits.