Educator Slain and Two Dozen Pupils Seized in Gunbattle at School in Nigeria
Armed assailants have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an assault against a educational institution for young women in north-western Nigeria, according to police.
The criminal group breached the comprehensive secondary school for girls in Kebbi State's Maga area at approximately 04:00 local time on the start of the week, police confirmed.
The assailants "confronted officers on duty in a shootout" before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the learners from their dormitory, authorities disclosed.
A school employee was killed while trying to protect the students. An additional employee received firearm injuries and is now receiving treatment.
Witnesses reported a large group of attackers, referred to locally as criminal elements, who arrived firing sporadically to generate terror.
Local residents told reporters that the gunmen subsequently marched a group of female students into nearby bushland.
The police said they had deployed "extra specialized police forces, in coordination with armed forces and vigilante groups" to the area.
A organized locating and saving mission is presently taking place in adjacent wooded areas and potential getaway paths.
In the past few years, learning centers in northern Nigerian regions have become frequent targets for militant organizations, who frequently execute kidnappings to demand financial compensation or leverage deals with the government.
The assault in Kebbi State underscores the continuing safety emergency plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they expect and desire their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Security crisis in the northern regions of Nigeria has escalated dramatically in the past few months, with schools suffering the most of the unrest.
Important Details
- Gun-wielding individuals raided a female educational institution in north-western Nigeria
- One teacher was killed while protecting students
- No fewer than 25 girl pupils were abducted from their hostel
- Law enforcement have launched a rescue operation in surrounding areas
- Learning center raids have escalated in regularity in Nigeria's northern regions
