In yet another kidnapping incident in northern Nigeria, armed men stormed a boarding secondary school before dawn on Monday, seizing 25 female students and killing at least one staff member, according to police.
The assault occurred around 4 a.m. at a school in Maga, located in Kebbi state’s Danko-Wasagu district, police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi confirmed.
He stated that the attackers, armed with “advanced weapons,” engaged in a shootout with security guards before dragging the girls from their dormitories.
Police reported that one person lost their life and another sustained injuries during the raid. However, local resident Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga—whose daughter and granddaughter were among those abducted—insisted that two people were killed.
According to him, the gunmen arrived on multiple motorcycles, first targeting a teacher’s quarters before fatally shooting the guard, the Associated Press reported.
A joint security force has since launched a search-and-rescue mission across nearby forests and suspected escape routes to recover the missing students and apprehend the assailants.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility, and the motive remains uncertain.
Nigeria continues to grapple with rampant insecurity fueled by loosely organised armed gangs commonly referred to as bandits. Unlike Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa Province, whose attacks are ideologically driven, these groups typically raid schools and villages for ransom, exploiting weak security in rural areas.
This latest abduction comes ten years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state in 2014—an incident that triggered a wave of school kidnappings across the region.
Since then, more than 1,500 students have been abducted as criminal groups turned kidnappings into a profitable enterprise.
Although such attacks have reduced in recent years due to measures like temporary school closures, Monday’s incident underscores the ongoing danger.
In March 2024, over 130 schoolchildren were freed after spending more than two weeks in captivity in Kaduna state.
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