Dozens of Students Taken in Early Morning Raid
Armed gunmen have abducted twenty-five female students from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria in a brutal attack that left the deputy head teacher dead. The assailants stormed the Maga Comprehensive Girls' Secondary School in Danko Wasagu, Kebbi state, at approximately 4am on Monday morning while students slept in their dormitories.
The school's vice principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, was shot dead while attempting to resist the attackers, according to local police reports. A security guard identified as Ali sustained injuries during the violent invasion before the kidnappers fled with their captives.
Security Failures and Route of Escape
Local residents revealed to Nigerian news outlet Premium Times that the armed bandits entered the area through forests in neighbouring Zamfara state. Remarkably, the attackers operated without hindrance despite the presence of two military checkpoints situated near the school premises.
One local source living near Maga town disclosed that the first checkpoint is located in Damarke, approximately seven kilometres from the school, while another is positioned less than a kilometre from the abduction site at Rabah junction in Maga.
"The checkpoint is fortified with heavy military equipment including an armoured personnel carrier (APC)," a traditional ruler speaking anonymously told reporters, raising serious questions about security preparedness in the region.
Echoes of Chibok and National Response
The kidnapping bears chilling resemblance to the 2014 Boko Haram abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, which sparked global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. In that incident, which remains Nigeria's most high-profile mass abduction case, over 80 girls remain missing more than a decade later.
Nigerian police have confirmed that tactical units, military personnel and vigilantes have been deployed for search and rescue operations to locate the missing students. In an official statement on X, the police force detailed that their units engaged the attackers in a gun duel but the bandits had already scaled the school fence and abducted the students from their hostel.
Kebbi State Police Commissioner CP Bello M Sani reiterated the command's "unwavering determination in safeguarding the lives and property" of residents while appealing for public calm and vigilance.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, though northwest Nigeria has experienced recurrent mass abductions from schools by armed gangs seeking ransom payments. The region has seen deteriorating security despite repeated government promises to enhance protection for educational institutions.
This latest incident follows the abduction of 200 pupils during a raid on a school in Kaduna State in March 2024, indicating a persistent pattern of targeting educational establishments in the region.
