Panic gripped Maga, Kebbi State, early Monday as armed assailants attacked a girls’ secondary school, killing a teacher and abducting at least 25 students. The raid, which occurred before sunrise, left staff and pupils scrambling for safety amid gunfire and confusion.
Police reported that the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School was targeted around 04:00 local time (0300 GMT).
“The attackers engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel,” the statement said, adding that the officers tried to defend the school before the assailants forced their way over the perimeter wall.
During the confrontation, one teacher was shot dead while trying to protect the students, and another was injured and is receiving treatment at a local facility.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of armed men, locally referred to as bandits, who opened fire randomly to terrorize the campus before heading straight for the hostels.
Several residents reported seeing the attackers lead a number of girls into nearby bushland before disappearing. Police confirmed that they had dispatched “additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups” to track down the kidnappers and recover the students.
A large-scale search and rescue operation is ongoing in the surrounding forests and along likely escape routes. Over the past decade, northern Nigerian schools have increasingly been the focus of violent attacks, with armed groups often abducting children for ransom or to press the government for concessions.
Although recent months had shown some reduction in incidents, this remains the first major school abduction since March 2024, when over 200 students were taken from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
The latest attack shows the fragile security situation in Kebbi, where residents are forced to live under constant threat.
Families of the missing girls remain on edge, gathered near the school and in their homes, waiting anxiously for updates. The incident has once again highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by northern Nigerian communities, where schools are meant to be places of learning but are increasingly vulnerable to armed attacks.
As authorities intensify efforts to locate the abducted girls, the people of Maga are left hoping for their safe return while grappling with fear and uncertainty.
