Police in Nigeria have confirmed that 25 female students were abducted in a violent early-morning attack on the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. The armed men, described by authorities as bandits, stormed the boarding school around 4:00 a.m., breaching the perimeter fence and overpowering security on duty.
Witnesses and security officials say the attackers wielded sophisticated weapons and launched sustained gunfire upon arrival. During the assault, the school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku, was shot dead while attempting to protect students. A security guard, Ali Shehu, was also injured after being shot in the hand.
Police operatives stationed at the school engaged the gunmen, but the attackers forced their way into the girls’ hostel and escaped with 25 students. The heavily armed group fled toward forested areas that link Kebbi with parts of Zamfara State, a region long troubled by bandit activity.
Following the attack, the Kebbi State Police Command deployed a joint rescue operation involving the police tactical units, the military, intelligence teams, and local vigilante groups. Search operations are ongoing across forest corridors believed to be the abductors’ escape routes.
Authorities say the attack happened despite the presence of two military checkpoints close to the school, raising questions about the mobility and coordination of armed groups operating across northwestern Nigeria. Local residents report that the attackers likely infiltrated the community after moving through dense forest routes used by bandit gangs.
Kebbi Deputy Governor Senator Umar Tafida visited the school to assess the aftermath, while Police Commissioner Bello M. Sani assured families that rescuing the abducted girls remains the state’s highest priority.
The tragic incident adds to a growing list of mass school abductions in northern Nigeria, where armed groups have repeatedly targeted educational institutions for ransom. It also underscores ongoing security vulnerabilities across the northwest, despite intensified military operations in recent months.
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