Teacher Killed and 25 Girls Abducted in Firefight at School in Nigeria
Weapon-carrying attackers have fatally shot an educator and abducted at least 25 students in an assault against a girls' secondary school in the northwestern part of Nigeria, authorities have confirmed.
The armed faction breached the comprehensive secondary school for girls in the Maga locality within Kebbi State at roughly 4 in the morning local time on Monday, police confirmed.
The assailants "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a shootout" before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the learners from their dormitory, according to a statement.
An educational worker was fatally shot while defending the students. An additional employee received firearm injuries and is now undergoing medical care.
Witnesses reported a sizeable number of assailants, referred to locally as criminal elements, who came shooting randomly to cause panic.
Area inhabitants disclosed to media that the attackers afterwards forced a contingent of young women into surrounding rural areas.
The police said they had deployed "additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel 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, educational institutions in Nigeria's north have regularly come under attack for militant organizations, who often carry out abductions to request monetary settlements or leverage deals with the government.
The assault in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency plaguing the region, causing relatives in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they anticipate and pray for their children's secure homecoming.
Safety emergency in Nigeria's northern territories has escalated dramatically in the last several months, with learning centers bearing the brunt of the conflict.
Key Points
- Armed attackers stormed a girls' school in north-western Nigeria
- An instructor was fatally shot while defending pupils
- A minimum of 25 young women were abducted from their hostel
- Law enforcement have initiated a recovery mission in surrounding areas
- Educational institution assaults have become increasingly common in the northern part of the country