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Armed men have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a girls’ secondary school in north-western Nigeria, police say.<\/p>\n
The gang invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 04:00 local time (0300 GMT) on Monday, they said.<\/p>\n
The attackers “engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel” before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their hostel, a statement said.<\/p>\n
One member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.<\/p>\n
Residents told the BBC that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bushland.<\/p>\n
The police said they had deployed “additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups” to the area.<\/p>\n
A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes.<\/p>\n
Over the past decade, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government.<\/p>\n
As well as trying to crack down on the kidnappers, Nigeria has also banned the payment of ransoms in an attempt to make it less lucrative.<\/p>\n
This is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state.<\/p>\n
The attack in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their daughters’ safe return.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n