Gunmen launched an attack on a high school in northwestern Nigeria early Monday, seizing 25 schoolgirls and fatally injuring a staff member, authorities reported. The incident marks another instance of student abduction in the area.
No specific group has claimed responsibility for the girls’ abduction from the boarding school in Kebbi state, and the reasons behind the attack remain unclear. Nigeria is grappling with a complex security situation, particularly from armed bandits who specialize in kidnapping for ransom, often demanding substantial amounts of money.
These armed groups, distinct from known militant organizations like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, have been responsible for various high-profile abductions across the northern region of Nigeria. The limited security presence has led to a rise in kidnappings, village attacks, and incidents along major roads.
The schoolgirls were taken from their dormitories at 4 a.m. local time on Monday, according to the police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi. The school, located in Maga within the Danko-Wasagu area of the state, was targeted by the assailants armed with sophisticated weaponry. A confrontation ensued between the attackers and guards before the girls were abducted.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway, with a combined team scouring potential escape routes and surrounding forests to recover the abducted students and apprehend the perpetrators. While the police reported one fatality and an injury, a resident, whose daughter and granddaughter were among those taken, believes that two individuals lost their lives during the raid.
Since the infamous 2014 Chibok abduction by Boko Haram, where 276 students were taken in Borno state, armed groups have continued to target schoolchildren in the region. This trend has resulted in over 1,500 students being kidnapped since the Chibok incident, with the abductions serving as a means for these groups to fund criminal activities and exert control over communities in the mineral-rich but poorly policed region.
Despite these challenges, there have been instances of successful rescues, such as in March 2024 when over 130 schoolchildren were freed after being held captive for more than two weeks in Kaduna state. School raids have declined in recent years due to heightened security measures implemented by state governments, including prolonged school closures in high-risk areas.
