Instructor Fatally Shot and Two Dozen Pupils Seized in Gunbattle at Nigerian School
Armed assailants have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an assault against a female high school in north-western Nigeria, according to police.
The armed faction stormed the public educational institution for female students in Maga, Kebbi State at approximately 04:00 local time on the start of the week, authorities reported.
The assailants "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a gun duel" before breaching the school's outer barrier and seizing the students from their living quarters, authorities disclosed.
One member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students. Another staff member suffered bullet injuries and is now receiving treatment.
Witnesses reported a considerable contingent of armed individuals, identified in the area as outlaw groups, who arrived firing sporadically to generate terror.
Local residents informed journalists that the armed men then led a group of female students into surrounding rural areas.
The police said they had deployed "supplementary tactical squads, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups" to the area.
A organized locating and saving mission is currently ongoing in nearby woodlands and suspected escape routes.
In recent years, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or gain negotiating power with authorities.
The incident in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency afflicting the area, causing relatives in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their daughters' safe return.
Protection challenge in the northern regions of Nigeria has escalated dramatically in the last several months, with educational institutions experiencing the greatest impact of the violence.
Essential Information
- Armed attackers attacked a school for young women in Nigeria's northwest
- An instructor was fatally shot while safeguarding learners
- No fewer than 25 girl pupils were taken from their living quarters
- Security forces have begun a saving effort in nearby regions
- Learning center raids have escalated in regularity in the northern part of the country
