Gunmen Abduct 25 Schoolgirls in Kebbi State, Nigeria

In the early hours of Monday, November 17, 2025, armed assailants attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, located in the Danko-Wasagu area of Kebbi State, Nigeria. The attackers, equipped with sophisticated weapons, stormed the school around 4:00 a.m., engaging in a gunfight with police personnel stationed on-site. Despite the resistance, the assailants managed to scale the school's perimeter fence and abduct 25 female students from their dormitories.

During the assault, the school's vice principal, identified as Hassan Makuku, was fatally shot. Another staff member, Ali Shehu, sustained a gunshot wound to his right hand.

In response to the attack, a combined team of police tactical units, military personnel, and local vigilante groups has been deployed to the area. The security forces are currently conducting search and rescue operations, combing suspected escape routes and nearby forests in an effort to locate and rescue the abducted students and apprehend the perpetrators.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction. However, such incidents are not uncommon in northern Nigeria, where armed groups, often referred to as bandits, have frequently targeted educational institutions for mass kidnappings, typically seeking ransom payments.

The Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, Bello M. Sani, condemned the attack, describing it as "dastardly," and reaffirmed the command's commitment to protecting lives and property across the state. He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant, and to continue supporting security agencies as efforts intensify to rescue the abducted students and restore peace.

This incident underscores the ongoing security challenges in Nigeria's northern regions, where over 1,500 students have been kidnapped since the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok by the militant group Boko Haram.