Teacher Killed and 25 Girls Abducted in Gunbattle at Educational Institution in Nigeria
Armed assailants have fatally shot an educator and kidnapped no fewer than 25 pupils in an attack on a educational institution for young women in north-western Nigeria, authorities have confirmed.
The criminal group breached the comprehensive secondary school for girls in Maga, Kebbi State at roughly 4 in the morning local time on Monday, police confirmed.
The attackers "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a shootout" before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the learners from their hostel, an official report indicated.
An educational worker was lost their life while safeguarding the students. Another staff member suffered bullet injuries and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a sizeable number of assailants, referred to locally as criminal elements, who arrived firing sporadically to create fear.
Local residents informed journalists that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bushland.
The authorities announced they had sent "additional police tactical units, in coordination with armed forces and local protection units" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation 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 often carry out abductions to request monetary settlements or leverage deals with the government.
The attack in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, causing relatives in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Safety emergency in northern Nigeria has worsened considerably in the past few months, with learning centers bearing the brunt of the unrest.
Important Details
- Armed attackers attacked a school for young women in Nigeria's northwest
- One teacher was killed while safeguarding learners
- A minimum of 25 young women were taken from their living quarters
- Law enforcement have launched a rescue operation in surrounding areas
- Educational institution assaults have escalated in regularity in the northern part of the country
