Violence in Nigeria: Gunmen Kidnap 25 Schoolgirls and Kill Vice Principal in Shocking Attack

Reuters-

Gunmen attacked a girls' boarding school run by the government in Kebbi State, Nigeria, early Monday, resulting in the death of the vice principal and the abduction of 25 female students, according to police reports. This incident marks the latest in a series of mass kidnappings in the northwest of the country. The attackers, armed with rifles and reportedly employing coordinated strategies, stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town around 4 a.m. local time. They engaged in a gunfight with police before climbing over the perimeter fence and taking the students, as stated by police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi. Vice Principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku was killed while trying to resist the attackers, and another staff member was injured by gunfire, he noted.

Police have reported that additional tactical units, soldiers, and local vigilantes have been sent to search for escape routes and comb the surrounding forests in a rescue operation. Northwest Nigeria has seen numerous school abductions by armed gangs looking for ransom, despite government promises to enhance security in the area. In 2014, the Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped 270 schoolgirls in Chibok, a town in the northeast. While many of the girls escaped or were released later, some have never been found.