A BBC Hausa report has it that some gunmen attacked a secondary school in Moriki, Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, while seeing a football game.
An eye witness who spoke to BBC Hausa about the incident in Moriki said the gunmen had opened fire when they entered the town and killed one man.
A rally in Moriki had announced to warn the people that the gunmen were on their way before they came in the night.
He said they went with two other teachers and four women who were nursing students, but they failed to reach where the students were sleeping.
The release of people for a ransom in Zamfara has steadily increased, despite efforts by the security forces to end the crisis in the northwest.
Thousands of people were killed while many children were abducted by the killings in the state.