Terror swept through a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi State on Monday morning after armed men stormed the premises, abducted several students and killed a staff member during an early-hour assault that has renewed fears over school safety in the northwest.
The gunmen, described by residents as bandits, arrived at Maga Comprehensive Girls’ Secondary School at about 5:52am, opening fire as students were beginning their morning routine. A school guard was injured in the chaos, while a number of girls were taken away by the attackers, according to locals and initial security briefings.
The attackers forced their way into the compound before the school could activate any form of response, leaving behind frightened students and staff who scrambled for safety. Residents of the community said the armed group had not gone far, urging both the Federal Government and Kebbi State authorities to act swiftly before the girls are moved deeper into the forest.
The incident follows a pattern of rising rural violence across several northern states, where schools have increasingly become soft targets.
A separate attack late Sunday in Kwara State highlights how widespread the insecurity has become. Gunmen stormed a police outpost in Rogun village, Kpada District of Patigi Local Government Area, engaging security personnel in a gun battle that lasted several minutes. By the time the gunfire died down, two officers – a police constable and a local vigilante operative – had been killed.
Security sources said the attackers arrived in large numbers and caught the officers off-guard, overwhelming them before reinforcements could arrive. The assault has triggered fresh worry among rural communities and exposed the vulnerabilities of understaffed security posts.
Back in Kebbi, frantic parents gathered around the school hoping for information, while local vigilante groups attempted to track the direction the kidnappers fled. As of Monday afternoon, authorities had not released an official figure of the abducted students.
The spate of attacks has once again placed pressure on state and federal officials who have repeatedly promised tighter security around educational institutions, particularly in areas where kidnapping for ransom has become entrenched.
Residents insist time is running out, and that an urgent, coordinated rescue operation may be the only hope of bringing the girls home safely.
