Twenty-five female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, were abducted in the early hours of yesterday when armed bandits stormed the school and killed the Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku.
According to community sources, the attackers invaded the school around 5 a.m., operating without resistance and causing widespread panic. Witnesses said the bandits shot sporadically before gaining access to the students’ hostel.
Residents said the Vice Principal was killed while attempting to protect the students. “He was shot as he tried to stop the attackers from taking the girls. It’s a huge loss for the community,” one resident, Aliyu Yakubu, said.
Another resident, Sulaiman Abdullahi, said several unidentified bodies were found within the school premises, adding that the bandits arrived in large numbers. He added that air force jets arrived overhead about three hours after the incident, while security forces cordoned off the area.
Community members have continued offering prayers for the late Vice Principal, describing his death as painful and unjust.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Kebbi State Police Command, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, confirmed the incident, saying the attackers scaled the school’s fence before launching the assault.
He said the bandits, armed with sophisticated weapons, whisked away 25 schoolgirls despite a gun duel with police tactical units who later engaged them. Families and residents are anxiously awaiting updates on the fate of the abducted students.
The Kebbi State Government described the abduction as “barbaric and condemnable.” In a statement, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ahmed Idris, expressed the government’s sympathy to the victims’ families and the school community.
Governor Nasir Idris, who visited the school for an on-the-spot assessment, also condemned the attack, calling it “unfortunate and unacceptable.” He assured that security agencies were doing everything possible to secure the safe return of the abducted girls.
The governor was accompanied by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the Emir of Zuru. The Deputy Governor, Senator Abubakar Umar, had earlier visited the scene.
However, President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to immediately rescue the abducted students. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the President strongly condemned the attack and reaffirmed government’s commitment to protecting all Nigerians, especially schoolchildren.
He said the President had issued “clear directives” to security and intelligence agencies to locate and safely recover the girls, stressing that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. He added that Nigeria is strengthening its internal and regional security cooperation to prevent similar incidents.
In the same vein, the former vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar condemned the attack, describing it as another tragic reminder of Nigeria’s deepening insecurity. He expressed grief over the killing of the Vice Principal and the abduction of the students, calling the incident “devastating.”
Atiku also decried the killing of an APC chieftain, Umar Moriki, and the mass abductions in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State. He said recent attacks across Plateau, Benue, Kano, and other states showed that insecurity had reached “intolerable levels.”
He urged the federal government to urgently strengthen the nation’s security architecture, deploy more personnel to vulnerable areas, and increase intelligence-led operations, noting that “our citizens deserve protection, dignity, and peace.”