Instructor Fatally Shot and 25 Female Students Kidnapped in Firefight at School in Nigeria
Weapon-carrying attackers have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a female high school in Nigeria's northwestern region, according to police.
The criminal group invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State at around 4 AM local time on the beginning of the work week, authorities reported.
The assailants "confronted officers on duty in a gun duel" before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their dormitory, an official report indicated.
A school employee was killed while trying to protect the students. Another staff member suffered bullet injuries and is now receiving treatment.
Observers recounted a considerable contingent of armed individuals, referred to locally as criminal elements, who arrived firing sporadically to create fear.
Community members disclosed to media that the attackers afterwards forced a contingent of young women into nearby bushland.
The authorities announced they had sent "extra specialized police forces, together with army members and local protection units" to the area.
A organized locating and saving mission is underway in surrounding forests and potential getaway paths.
In the past few years, schools in northern Nigeria have increasingly been targeted for armed groups, who frequently execute kidnappings to request monetary settlements or leverage deals with the government.
The assault in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a situation of anxious fatigue as they anticipate and pray for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Security crisis in the northern regions of Nigeria has intensified significantly in the last several months, with schools suffering the most of the conflict.
Essential Information
- Armed attackers raided a female educational institution in north-western Nigeria
- An instructor was fatally shot while protecting students
- No fewer than 25 girl pupils were abducted from their hostel
- Protection agencies have launched a rescue operation in nearby regions
- School attacks have grown more frequent in Nigeria's northern regions