At least 15 villagers were taken hostage by gunmen who attacked Maradun area of Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara over the weekend, a local official said on Monday.

Speaker of the state parliament Sanusi Rikiji told Xinhua by telephone that the whereabouts of the victims remained unknown following the gunmen's attack.

Recently, at least 18 villages and towns across more than three districts in the state have been taken over by gunmen, said Rikiji.

He said there was a need for the security situation in the state to be seriously reviewed.

"Security agencies should do more to deploy enough security personnel in Zamfara; we need permanent security stations in the affected area," Rikiji said.

The Nigerian government on Sunday announced the deployment of more than 1,000 army personnel to curb the spate of attack in Zamfara.

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