At least 25 students have been abducted from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, following an overnight attack by armed men.
The assault occurred in the early hours of Monday in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area. According to witnesses, the gunmen stormed the school around midnight and killed the vice principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, who was said to have attempted to protect the students during the raid.
Police spokesperson CSP Nafiu Abubakar confirmed the abductions, adding that security agencies have launched a search-and-rescue operation.
Kebbi State Chief Press Secretary, Ahmed Idris, said Deputy Governor Umar Tafida had been dispatched to the community to assess the situation on behalf of Governor Nasir Idris, who was out of the state at the time.
Residents described an atmosphere of fear and grief as prayers were offered for the slain vice principal and the safe return of the abducted girls.
The attack is the latest in a troubling pattern of mass kidnappings targeting educational institutions in northern Nigeria. In February 2021, 317 girls were kidnapped from a school in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The same month, dozens of students and staff were seized from Government Science College, Kagara, in Niger State. Months earlier, in December 2020, 300 boys were abducted from a school in Kankara, Katsina State.
Other major school abductions include the 2018 kidnapping in Dapchi and the 2014 mass abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, an incident that drew global condemnation.
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