Additional Coverage:
Kebbi State, Nigeria – In a disturbing incident that echoes past tragedies, 25 schoolgirls were abducted from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State early Monday morning. Authorities confirmed that gunmen stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, around 4 a.m., killing at least one staff member and injuring another during the raid.
Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi detailed that the heavily armed assailants exchanged fire with school guards before making off with the students. “A combined team is currently combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and arresting the perpetrators,” Kotarkoshi stated.
Nigerian Information Minister Mohamed Idris addressed the incident, emphasizing that the perpetrators are believed to be “organized criminal groups that operate for profit.” Idris clarified, “Whether they have any ideological ties is still under investigation, and we do not want to fuel speculation while the facts are being verified.” He underscored the government’s commitment to protecting all Nigerian children, regardless of religion, and dismantling these criminal networks.
Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga, a local resident whose daughter and granddaughter were among those abducted, recounted that the attackers arrived on motorcycles. He described the harrowing scene, stating, “They first went straight to the teacher’s house and killed him before killing the guard.”
The Federal Government has expressed profound concern and solidarity with the families of the abducted girls. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reiterated the state’s solemn responsibility to protect every Nigerian, particularly schoolchildren, and condemned the “reprehensible attack on innocent students and the killing of school officials.”
This latest abduction is part of a troubling pattern of mass kidnappings that have plagued northern Nigeria in recent years. In 2024 alone, 280 students were abducted from a school in Kaduna State, and over 200 internally displaced women and children were taken in Borno State. The most infamous incident, the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants, garnered international attention and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
As search and rescue operations continue, the government remains focused on ensuring the safe return of the girls and holding those responsible accountable for their actions.