A young girl managed to flee from her captors following a mass raid on a girls’ boarding school in north-western Nigeria, authorities report; search continues for dozens of classmates.
A student abducted during an armed raid on a girls’ boarding school in north-western Nigeria has managed to escape and return home safely, according to officials in Kebbi State. The incident occurred early Monday morning when a group of gunmen attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, killing a staff member and kidnapping 25 students from their dormitory.
Authorities reported that the assailants, travelling on motorcycles, breached the school’s perimeter fence around 4 a.m. and confronted police officers stationed at the premises. After overpowering security personnel, the gunmen entered the dormitory block and forced the students into the surrounding bush before fleeing the area.
The student who escaped was among those seized during the attack. Local authorities said she managed to slip away through forested terrain and reach her family shortly afterward. Another student, who was present during the raid, was able to evade capture during the chaos and was never taken by the attackers.
Kebbi State officials confirmed that 24 students remain missing, prompting an extensive search effort involving the Nigerian army, local security forces, community vigilante groups and specialised tracking units familiar with the region’s terrain. Military commanders stated that the response includes coordinated patrols, intelligence-gathering operations and the deployment of additional personnel to potential escape routes used by armed groups.
The attack has drawn renewed attention to persistent insecurity in Nigeria’s north-west, where kidnapping networks and armed gangs have repeatedly targeted schools. Similar incidents in recent years have led to the temporary closure of educational institutions across several states, as authorities struggle to prevent attacks on rural campuses with limited security infrastructure.
Governor Nasir Idris visited the school following the incident and ordered reinforced protection for boarding facilities throughout the state. He stated that the government is working closely with federal agencies to locate the missing students and to review existing security measures for vulnerable institutions. Education officials said classes at the school will remain suspended pending further assessment.
The incident follows a pattern of mass abductions that has continued to challenge security forces across the region. Analysts note that armed groups frequently target schools both for ransom and for the strategic disruption such attacks cause. Parents of the missing girls have gathered near the school grounds, awaiting updates from authorities as search operations intensify.
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