Gunmen Abduct 25 Students in Predawn Raid on Nigerian Girls’ School

Gunmen Abduct 25 Students in Predawn Raid on Nigerian Girls’ School
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Armed men from a criminal gang kidnapped 25 students and killed a staff member during an early morning attack on a girls’ secondary school in northwestern Nigeria on Monday, authorities said, France 24 reported. The assault took place around 4:00am at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi state, where attackers armed with heavy weapons opened fire and breached the school’s perimeter fence before seizing the students from their hostel.

Police said officers responded quickly, but the kidnappers had already fled with the victims. A deputy head teacher was fatally shot, and a security guard sustained injuries, according to a report compiled for the United Nations. Security forces, including military units, police tactical teams and local vigilantes, have since launched a search operation across nearby routes and forests to locate the hostages and pursue the gang.

The incident marks the second mass abduction in Kebbi in four years; in 2021, more than 100 students and staff were taken from another school, with many released only after parents paid ransoms. Some victims were forced into marriage and returned with infants. Nigeria’s northwest has faced a surge in kidnappings by armed groups commonly referred to as bandits, who raid villages, steal livestock and abduct residents for ransom.

The country also continues to contend with jihadist violence in the northeast, where Boko Haram’s 2014 abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls drew global attention. Aid agencies warn that kidnapping has evolved into a widespread criminal industry, with thousands of children affected by verified attacks over the past decade.