Educator Slain and 25 Girls Abducted in Firefight at Nigerian School
Gun-wielding individuals have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an assault against a educational institution for young women in north-western Nigeria, according to police.
The gang of attackers breached the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi State's Maga area at around 4 AM local time on the start of the week, police confirmed.
The attackers "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a gun duel" before scaling the perimeter fence and taking the pupils captive from their dormitory, an official report indicated.
One member of staff was killed while trying to protect 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 came shooting randomly to create fear.
Local residents told reporters that the armed men then led a group of female students into surrounding rural areas.
The police said they had deployed "supplementary tactical squads, in coordination with armed forces and community security teams" to the area.
A organized locating and saving mission is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes.
In recent years, educational institutions in Nigeria's north have increasingly been targeted for militant organizations, who frequently execute kidnappings to request monetary settlements or gain negotiating power with authorities.
The attack in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency troubling the locality, resulting in households in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they expect and desire their daughters' safe return.
Protection challenge in northern Nigeria has intensified significantly in recent months, with educational institutions bearing the brunt of the unrest.
Essential Information
- Gun-wielding individuals attacked a school for young women in Nigeria's northwest
- An educator lost their life while protecting students
- At least 25 female students were kidnapped from their dormitory
- Protection agencies have launched a rescue operation in nearby regions
- School attacks have grown more frequent in Nigeria's northern regions
