Instructor Fatally Shot and 25 Female Students Kidnapped in Armed Clash at School in Nigeria
Weapon-carrying attackers have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a female high school in Nigeria's northwestern region, according to police.
The gang of attackers stormed the comprehensive secondary school for girls in Maga, Kebbi State at approximately 04:00 local time on Monday, police confirmed.
The attackers "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a gun duel" before breaching the school's outer barrier and taking the pupils captive from their hostel, authorities disclosed.
An educational worker was fatally shot while defending the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to create fear.
Local residents informed journalists that the armed men then led a contingent of young women into adjacent wilderness.
The authorities announced they had sent "supplementary tactical squads, in coordination with armed forces and local protection units" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is currently ongoing in nearby woodlands and suspected escape routes.
In the past few years, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for militant organizations, who often carry out abductions to request monetary settlements or secure advantages in discussions with officials.
The attack in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency plaguing the region, resulting in households in Maga in a situation of anxious fatigue as they wait and hope for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Security crisis in Nigeria's northern territories has worsened considerably in the last several months, with educational institutions experiencing the greatest impact of the violence.
Important Details
- Weapon-carrying assailants attacked a school for young women in Nigeria's northwest
- An instructor was fatally shot while protecting students
- No fewer than 25 girl pupils were kidnapped from their dormitory
- Protection agencies have begun a saving effort in surrounding areas
- Learning center raids have grown more frequent in the northern part of the country
