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Two girls, who were among at least 25 children and a teacher kidnapped from their boarding school in north-western Nigeria’s Kebbi state on Monday, have managed to escape, a local official told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The pair ran away as their armed captors were leading them into the bushes and got away across farmland, Hussaini Aliyu of Danko Wasagu council said. <\/p>\n
He added that the girls were “back and are safe”, but one of them needed medical treatment as she had hurt her leg while fleeing.<\/p>\n
The assault left two members of staff dead – a teacher was killed while trying to protect girls and a security guard later died in hospital from gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A team of soldiers, police and volunteers are combing forested areas in an attempt to rescue the captives seized by the gunmen.<\/p>\n
“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” Maj Gen Waidi Shaibu, Nigeria’s army chief of staff, told troops sent to Kebbi state.<\/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
Police say the gunmen, described locally as “bandits”, invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town at about 04:00 (03:00 GMT) on Monday.<\/p>\n
Parents face an agonising wait. <\/p>\n
One inconsolable father, whose daughter is still being held captive, told BBC Hausa that his family had been crying non-stop and “it’s hard to go back home and look at their faces”.<\/p>\n
He said he had two daughters enrolled at the school one of whom had successfully hid from the attackers, but the other had not been so lucky.<\/p>\n
“My two daughters hid in the toilet when the armed men invaded their hostel.<\/p>\n
“When the [gunmen] ordered all those hiding to come out, or else they’ll kill them, one of my daughters got scared and came out,” the father said.<\/p>\n
He added that he had heard of the abductions after the Muslim early-morning prayer on Monday, and had rushed to the school and been there ever since.<\/p>\n
“My daughter is a very bright and easy-going person,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Police say the attackers “engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel” before climbing over the perimeter fence and taking the girls from their hostel.<\/p>\n
The security guard who died had a granddaughter and great-granddaughter at the same school and they are among those kidnapped.<\/p>\n
It has devastated his family.<\/p>\n
“I found him in his pool of blood,” the security guard’s daughter told the BBC. “Then they took my daughter and also my granddaughter.”<\/p>\n
She said she had been unable to eat or sleep ever since.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The attack highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in a state of fear. <\/p>\n
Nigeria’s central government says it is “deeply concerned” by the abductions. <\/p>\n
In a statement on Monday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris Malagi said the authorities “share in the pain” of the affected families and were working urgently to rescue the girls.<\/p>\n
He added that President Bola Tinubu remained “unwavering in his commitment to protect every Nigerian, especially schoolchildren”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n