Instructor Fatally Shot and 25 Girls Abducted in Gunbattle at Educational Institution in Nigeria
Weapon-carrying attackers have killed a teacher and seized a minimum of 25 learners in an attack on a girls' secondary school in north-western Nigeria, according to police.
The armed faction stormed the comprehensive secondary school for girls in the Maga locality within Kebbi State at around 4 AM local time on the beginning of the work week, police confirmed.
The assailants "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a shootout" before breaching the school's outer barrier and seizing the students from their dormitory, according to a statement.
One member of staff was fatally shot while defending the students. Another staff member suffered bullet injuries and is now undergoing medical care.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, referred to locally as criminal elements, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.
Area inhabitants informed journalists that the gunmen subsequently marched a contingent of young women into nearby bushland.
The law enforcement confirmed they had positioned "additional police tactical units, in coordination with armed forces and community security teams" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is currently ongoing in nearby woodlands and potential getaway paths.
In the past few years, schools in northern Nigeria have increasingly been targeted for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to request monetary settlements or leverage deals with the government.
The incident in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency plaguing the region, causing relatives in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they wait and hope for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Safety emergency in Nigeria's northern territories has intensified significantly in the last several months, with educational institutions experiencing the greatest impact of the violence.
Important Details
- Weapon-carrying assailants stormed a girls' school in north-western Nigeria
- One teacher was killed while safeguarding learners
- A minimum of 25 young women were abducted from their hostel
- Security forces have launched a rescue operation in surrounding areas
- Educational institution assaults have escalated in regularity in Nigeria's northern regions
