A predawn attack on a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria left 25 schoolgirls abducted, one staff member dead, and another wounded, marking the latest in a series of increasingly brazen kidnappings targeting the country’s northern region.
According to The Associated Press, the assault took place around 4 a.m. Monday at a girls’ boarding school in Maga, located in Kebbi state’s Danko-Wasagu area. Police said the gunmen stormed the dormitories armed with “sophisticated weapons,” opening fire on school guards before seizing the students.
Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi confirmed the attack and said security forces were mobilized within hours.
“A combined team is currently combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and arresting the perpetrators,” Kotarkoshi said.
No group has claimed responsibility, and investigators have not identified a clear motive. Unlike Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa Province — groups whose violence is driven by extremist ideology — the armed bandits who dominate this region operate for one primary purpose: ransom.
These loosely organized criminal groups have evolved into one of the most persistent threats in Nigeria’s northwest. Their operations range from village raids to highway ambushes, and kidnapping students has become a lucrative tactic, often generating ransom payments in the thousands of dollars.
Northern Nigeria’s limited security presence has allowed such groups to flourish, creating conditions where schools are repeatedly targeted. Monday’s attack adds to a troubling list of mass abductions that have disrupted education and fueled widespread fear among families.
The region has faced heightened attention since 2014, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state. That incident shocked the world and marked a turning point, ushering in an era in which students became prime targets. Many of those girls are still missing, and the pattern of kidnappings has only intensified.
Since the Chibok abductions, at least 1,500 students have been taken in similar attacks. In one of the most recent cases, more than 130 schoolchildren were freed in March 2024 after being held captive for more than two weeks in Kaduna state.
Authorities in Kebbi state say the search effort is ongoing, with teams scouring forests and potential escape corridors. As families await news, the attack underscores Nigeria’s continued struggle to protect rural communities and schoolchildren from armed groups that operate with impunity across the region.
