Armed bandits launched a assault on a secondary school in Kebbi State late Sunday, abducting at least 25 female students and gunning down the vice principal in a brazen attack that has prompted a frantic military rescue bid and condemnation from local authorities.
The assailants, numbering in the dozens and brandishing advanced weaponry, descended on Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu district, firing wildly to scatter pupils and staff before breaching the premises under cover of darkness.
Eyewitness Sulaiman Abdulllahi recounted the terror: “They came in mass numbers at night, began shooting sporadically before they got access to the school.”
The vice principal was killed in the melee, with unidentified bodies later spotted on the grounds, as the gunmen herded the terrified girls away into the surrounding bush.
By Monday morning, Nigerian Air Force jets were circling overhead, while heavily armed security units sealed off the area, launching a tactical operation to hunt the kidnappers and free the captives.
CSP Nafiu Abubakar, spokesperson for Kebbi Police Command, confirmed the crisis, stating: “A tactical team has been raised to begin rescue operations of the abducted students.” He added: “Efforts are being intensified to ensure no student in captivity gets hurt by the bandits.”
Commissioner of Police Bello Sani vowed swift justice, positioning himself to “bring an end to the menace” plaguing the volatile northwest.
