Twenty-five schoolgirls were abducted and a vice-principal killed in an early Monday morning raid on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Nigeria. This latest mass abduction has reignited concerns over escalating insecurity in northern Nigeria, a region plagued by the dual threats of jihadist groups and criminal gangs.

Major General Waidi Shaibu, Nigeria’s recently promoted chief of army staff, promptly ordered his troops in Kebbi State to fight “day and night” and “leave no stone unturned” in their efforts to rescue the abducted students. The assailants, described as armed men or “bandits,” scaled the school fence, shot and killed the vice-principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, and injured a local security guard, Ali Maga, before abducting the girls from their dormitory.

Amina Hassan, the widow of the slain vice-principal, recounted the terrifying incident to Nigerian television. She described being woken by noise outside their house at 3:30 am and trying to rouse her husband before the gunmen burst in. “We started struggling with them and one of them pulled out his gun and shot my husband,” she tearfully explained. She was then dragged outside but pleaded to be left behind, stating she wouldn't go with them after they had killed the father of her children. Her daughter then emerged and was taken by the attackers, though she later managed to escape into the bush when the abductors were distracted by the other schoolgirls.

This incident marks the second mass school abduction in Kebbi State in four years, following a June 2021 event where over 100 students and staff were kidnapped from a government college in Birnin Yauri. Those victims were released in batches over two years after ransoms were paid, with some female students reportedly subjected to forced marriage and returning with babies. Such abductions are part of a grim pattern in Nigeria, echoing the infamous 2014 kidnapping of 276 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram. Other notable incidents include the 2021 abductions in Tegina (Niger State), Greenfield University (Kaduna State), and Jangebe (Zamfara State), as well as the 2024 Kuriga (Kaduna State) kidnapping of over 100 students, who were later freed.

Kebbi State itself is geographically vulnerable, caught between the jihadist threat emanating from neighboring Niger and the pervasive activities of criminal gangs, locally known as “bandits,” who operate from bases in the Zamfara forest near Maga. These groups routinely loot villages, kidnap for ransom, and kill residents across Nigeria's north.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its spokesperson Ini Ememobong, strongly condemned the abduction, describing it as “another tragic reminder of the rising insecurity confronting Nigerians since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.” The PDP accused the Tinubu-led APC administration of “consistently preferred the politicisation of governance over the protection of citizens” and failing in its primary duty of safeguarding lives and property. Ememobong also highlighted recent kidnappings in Nasarawa, Plateau, Kano, and Katsina states, mocking President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” as failing to deliver on its promises. The party called on the President to prioritize security and bring an end to the “tragic cycle” of violence.

Internationally, U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore condemned the attack, calling it “horrific” and urging prayers for the abducted girls and the deceased vice-principal. However, his characterization of the attack occurring in a “Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria” sparked immediate controversy. Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad swiftly corrected Moore on social media platform X, stating that the incident occurred within a “Muslim community” and the victims were Muslims. Ahmad criticized the lawmaker for potentially “pushing unholy narratives that risk worsening our already fragile unity,” referencing long-standing claims by some U.S. officials of “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, which the Nigerian government has consistently rejected as inaccurate and harmful. Kebbi State is, in fact, located in Nigeria's majority-Muslim north.

Both the Kebbi State Government, led by Governor Nasir Idris, and the federal government have affirmed their commitment to securing the release of the abducted girls. Governor Idris promised, “We do everything possible to ensure that their children are being rescued,” while the federal government stated it “shares in the pain of the victims” and is working with security agencies to ensure their safe return.