A pre-dawn assault on a boarding high school in Nigeria's Kebbi state has resulted in the abduction of 25 schoolgirls and the tragic death of at least one staff member. The incident, which occurred early Monday morning, marks another painful chapter in the ongoing struggle against insecurity plaguing northern Nigeria.
Details of the Brazen Attack
Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi confirmed that the attack took place around 4 AM at a school in Maga, within Kebbi state’s Danko-Wasagu area. Heavily armed assailants, described as carrying “sophisticated weapons,” launched a coordinated raid. They engaged in a firefight with school guards before forcibly seizing the girls from their dormitories. Official police reports indicate one fatality and one injury during the raid. However, a local resident, Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga, whose own daughter and granddaughter are among the kidnapped, believes two individuals were killed. Maga recounted that the attackers arrived on multiple motorcycles, initially targeting a teacher's residence before killing a guard.
Intensified Search and Rescue Operations
Following the attack, a combined team of security forces was immediately deployed. They are currently conducting extensive search-and-rescue operations across surrounding forests and suspected escape routes. The primary objective is to locate the abducted students safely and apprehend the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act. As of now, no group has officially claimed responsibility for the abduction, and the precise motive behind the raid remains unclear.
The Pervasive Threat of Banditry
This latest kidnapping underscores Nigeria's persistent challenge with widespread insecurity. The perpetrators are often identified as “bandits,” loosely organized armed groups distinct from ideologically driven terror groups like Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). These bandit groups predominantly target schools and vulnerable rural communities, viewing abductions as a lucrative criminal enterprise driven by the demand for ransom payments. Their operations exploit the limited security presence in many remote areas.
A Decade of School Kidnappings
The incident tragically echoes the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state in 2014 by Boko Haram, an event that ignited global outrage and marked a significant escalation in school kidnappings across the region. Since then, an estimated 1,500 students have fallen victim to such raids. While robust security measures, including temporary school closures, have led to a decline in such incidents in recent years, Monday's attack serves as a stark reminder of the enduring threat. Encouragingly, efforts to combat this menace have seen successes, such as the rescue of over 130 schoolchildren in Kaduna state in March 2024 after more than two weeks in captivity. However, the Kebbi abduction highlights the critical need for continued vigilance and enhanced security protocols to protect educational institutions and their students.