Bandits kill Teacher, Abduct 25 Girls In A Kebbi Secondary School
Armed men have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi State.
According to a statement by the Kebbi State Police Command, the bandits invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 04:00 am on Monday.
The statement said the attackers engaged Police personnel on duty in a gun duel” before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their hostel.
The Police report further stated that One member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students, a second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described seeing a large group of attackers who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.
Residents told the journalists that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bush.
The Police said they have deployed “additional Police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups” to the area.
“A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes”, said the Police
Over the past decade, schools in Northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government.
As well as trying to crack down on the kidnappers, Nigeria has also banned the payment of ransoms in an attempt to make it less lucrative.
This is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state.
The attack in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their daughters’ safe return.
