Instructor Fatally Shot and Two Dozen Pupils Seized in Armed Clash at Nigerian School
Weapon-carrying attackers have taken the life of an instructor and seized a minimum of 25 learners in an assault against a female high school in the northwestern part of Nigeria, authorities have confirmed.
The armed faction stormed the comprehensive secondary school for girls in Kebbi State's Maga area at approximately 04:00 local time on the start of the week, police confirmed.
The armed individuals "confronted officers on duty in a firefight" before scaling the perimeter fence and taking the pupils captive from their living quarters, according to a statement.
A school employee was lost their life while safeguarding the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a sizeable number of assailants, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.
Area inhabitants disclosed to media that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bushland.
The authorities announced they had sent "supplementary tactical squads, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is currently ongoing in nearby woodlands and believed flight corridors.
In the past few years, educational institutions in Nigeria's north have increasingly been targeted for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to request monetary settlements or secure advantages in discussions with officials.
The assault in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis afflicting the area, causing relatives in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they expect and desire their daughters' safe return.
Security crisis in northern Nigeria has escalated dramatically in the last several months, with schools suffering the most of the unrest.
Key Points
- Armed attackers attacked a school for young women in the northwestern part of Nigeria
- One teacher was killed while defending pupils
- A minimum of 25 young women were taken from their living quarters
- Security forces have begun a saving effort in adjacent locations
- School attacks have grown more frequent in northern Nigeria
