Gunmen Abduct 25 Girls and Kill Teacher at Nigerian School
In a distressing incident in Nigeria’s Kebbi state, gunmen have kidnapped 25 girls and fatally shot at least one teacher at a boarding school, authorities reported on Monday. The abduction took place around 4 a.m., with no group immediately claiming responsibility for this violent act.
Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkosi, a police spokesman, informed The Associated Press that the assailants were armed with sophisticated weapons and engaged in a firefight with security personnel before executing the abduction. Kotarkosi stated, “Joint teams are currently conducting a thorough search of possible escape routes and the surrounding forest in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and arresting the perpetrators,” confirming that one individual was killed and another injured during the assault.
A woman watches as she walks past a classroom at Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, northern Nigeria, on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Faubel/AFP via Getty Images)
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, indicated to Fox News Digital that authorities are treating this incident as a kidnapping orchestrated by a commercial organized crime group. Idris emphasized the ongoing investigation into potential ideological motivations but refrained from speculating during the assessment process.
“This is not a matter of religious conflict; these criminals target individuals they perceive as vulnerable,” he stated. “Our top priority is the safety of all Nigerian children, and we remain committed to dismantling these networks and bringing all perpetrators to justice.”
Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga, a local resident, shared that both his daughter and granddaughter were among those taken during the raid. He recounted that the attackers arrived on motorbikes, first assaulting the teacher before attacking security personnel.
Idris reassured that the government is making efforts to ensure the safe return of the abducted girls while also aiming to bring the responsible offenders to justice. “The Federal Government expresses its deep concern and solidarity with the families of the girls abducted from Maga Public Girls Secondary School in Danko/Wasag Local Government Area of Kebbi State. We share their pain and are resolute in ensuring the safe return of the girls,” he said.
FILE – On February 27, 2021, following the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls in Jangebe, students’ names were written on chairs in a deserted classroom at a public girls’ secondary school. (Kora Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images)
This incident is part of a larger trend of mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria in recent years. In 2024, 280 students were snatched from a school in Kaduna state, while in Borno state, at least 200 individuals, primarily internally displaced women and children, were taken while foraging for firewood, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The ongoing crisis has its roots in a notorious incident from 2014, when Boko Haram militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Chibok, igniting international outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
