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A gang stormed a school in Kebbi State early Monday, shooting sporadically, and fled with 25 girls, according to police
Gunmen have attacked a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria, killing the vice principal and abducting several female students, the authorities have announced.
The armed bandits, carrying “sophisticated weapons,” stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the village of Maga, Kebbi State early Monday, “shooting sporadically,” the Nigerian Police Force said in a statement.
The NPF said its tactical units deployed at the school engaged the attackers in a gunfight, but the bandits had already scaled the school’s fence and taken 25 students from their hostel with whom they fled to an unknown location.
In the statement, the police added that “Hassan Makuku was shot dead while Ali Shehu sustained an injury to his right hand.”
Local media identified Makuku as the vice principal. A teacher from the school also confirmed to Reuters that he was shot dead while resisting the attackers and that a security guard was wounded.
Nigeria has long been plagued by kidnappings conducted by criminal gangs and terrorist groups operating across the West African nation. The groups often hold victims for extended periods, demanding ransom payments for their release. The issue drew global attention in 2014 when Boko Haram militants abducted hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok village in Borno State.
At least 45 women and children were abducted when armed men raided five villages in Zamfara State in August. Days earlier, gunmen on motorbikes killed 11 people and seized 70 others in Sabongarin Damri.
In March 2024, gunmen kidnapped more than 130 children and staff from a school in Kaduna State, one of the largest incidents in recent years. The army rescued them days later.
On Monday, Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi, the spokesperson for the Kebbi State Police Command, said a joint team of police tactical units, military personnel, and vigilantes was deployed to track the abductors in the latest incident.
“They are currently combing the bandits’ routes and nearby forest, with a view to rescue the abducted students and possibly arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act,” he said.
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