Educator Slain and Two Dozen Pupils Seized in Gunbattle at School in Nigeria
Gun-wielding individuals have killed a teacher and seized a minimum of 25 learners in an assault against a educational institution for young women in north-western Nigeria, according to police.
The criminal group breached the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi State's Maga area at approximately 04:00 local time on Monday, police confirmed.
The assailants "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a firefight" before climbing over the boundary wall and seizing the students from their dormitory, according to a statement.
One member of staff was fatally shot while defending the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now being treated medically.
Witnesses reported a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who appeared discharging weapons intermittently to cause panic.
Area inhabitants informed journalists that the gunmen subsequently marched a group of female students into surrounding rural areas.
The law enforcement confirmed they had positioned "supplementary tactical squads, alongside military personnel and community security teams" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and believed flight corridors.
In recent years, educational institutions in Nigeria's north have regularly come under attack for militant organizations, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or gain negotiating power with authorities.
The incident in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, resulting in households in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they anticipate and pray for their daughters' safe return.
Security crisis in northern Nigeria has worsened considerably in the past few months, with educational institutions bearing the brunt of the unrest.
Important Details
- Armed attackers attacked a school for young women in north-western Nigeria
- An educator lost their life while protecting students
- A minimum of 25 young women were abducted from their hostel
- Protection agencies have launched a rescue operation in surrounding areas
- Educational institution assaults have escalated in regularity in the northern part of the country