Armed men have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a girls’ secondary school in north western Nigeria, according to police.
The gang invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, around 04:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Monday. Police say the attackers engaged officers on duty in a gun duel before scaling the school’s perimeter fence and seizing students from their hostel.
One staff member was killed while trying to shield the students, and another was shot and is currently receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, locally known as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to create panic. Residents told the BBC that the gunmen marched several girls into surrounding bushland.
Police say additional tactical units, military personnel, and vigilante groups have been deployed to support a coordinated search and rescue operation across nearby forests and suspected escape routes.
Over the last decade, schools across northern Nigeria have increasingly come under attack by armed groups seeking ransom payments or bargaining leverage with the government. In response, Nigeria has criminalized ransom payments in an effort to curb the practice.
This incident marks the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
The attack in Kebbi State underscores the deepening security crisis gripping the region, leaving families in Maga fearful and anxious as they await news of their daughters’ safe return.
