Gunmen attacked a girls’ secondary school in northwestern Nigeria before dawn on Monday, abducting at least 25 students and killing a staff member, police said.
The raid happened around 4 a.m. at the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Police spokesperson Nafi'u Abubakar Kotarkoshi said the attackers were armed with sophisticated weapons. They exchanged fire with school guards before scaling the fence and taking the girls from their dormitory.
“At least 25 students were abducted and one staff member was killed. Another staff member was injured,” Kotarkoshi confirmed.
No group has claimed responsibility. But similar attacks in the Northwest are usually carried out by heavily armed gangs, known locally as bandits, who demand ransoms.
A combined team of military and police units is now searching escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated rescue operation.
This attack is the latest in a series of school kidnappings across northern Nigeria. The trend began in 2014, when Boko Haram abducted 276 students in Chibok, Borno State.
Kidnappings for ransom have become a major security crisis. Armed groups exploit weak security to attack villages and schools. While many victims are eventually released, the attacks have disrupted education, especially for girls.
In March last year, over 130 schoolchildren were kidnapped in Kaduna State before being rescued weeks later.
