listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations may occur. We work with our partners to continually review and improve our results.
Gunmen attacked a high school in northwestern Nigeria in the early hours of Monday, kidnapping 25 female students and killing at least one staff member, authorities said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction of the schoolgirls from a boarding school in Kebbi State, and the motive was unclear.
Nigeria faces multidimensional security challenges. In particular, an amorphous armed bandit group that specializes in kidnapping for ransom (sometimes totaling thousands of dollars) and has been involved in several high-profile kidnappings in Nigeria’s northern region.
With limited security presence, kidnappings and attacks in villages and along highways are common.
“Sophisticated weapon”
The group is not believed to be affiliated with extremist groups such as Boko Haram or the Islamic State West Africa Province, which carry out religiously motivated attacks on communities and government facilities.
According to police, the girls were taken from the dormitory at 4 a.m. local time on Monday. Police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotalkosi said the school is located in Maga, Danko Wasag district of the state.
Kotarkosi said the attackers were armed with “sophisticated weapons” and engaged in a gun battle with security guards before abducting the girls.
“Joint teams are currently combing possible escape routes and the surrounding forest in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and apprehending the perpetrators,” the spokesperson said.
Kotarkosi said one person was killed and another injured, but residents who said their daughter and granddaughter were kidnapped in the attack believe the death toll is two.
Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga said: “I heard that the attackers entered the school on a number of motorcycles. First they went straight to the teacher’s house and killed the teacher, then the security guard.”
Police did not respond to calls from The Associated Press seeking confirmation of the second death.
The militants have targeted schoolchildren in the region since 2014, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 students in Chibok, Borno state. The abductions signaled the beginning of a new era of terror, with dozens still held captive.
279 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped at gunpoint have been released. However, mass kidnappings for ransom are on the rise, and the government is under increasing pressure to stop it.
At least 1,500 students have been abducted since the Chibok abduction. In mineral-rich but under-policed areas of the country, armed groups are increasingly finding kidnappings a lucrative way to fund other crimes and control villages. In March 2024, more than 130 schoolchildren were rescued from Nigeria’s Kaduna state after being held captive for more than two weeks.
Nevertheless, attacks on schools have subsided in recent years as state governments have taken safety measures in hotspots, including closing schools for extended periods.
