Raid Highlights Security Lapses Despite Checkpoints; Rescue Efforts Underway
The Kebbi State Police Command and state government have verified the early-morning raid on Maga Comprehensive Girls’ Secondary School in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area, where armed terrorists abducted 25 female students from their dormitory, killing one staff member in the process.
In a statement on Monday, Police Public Relations Officer Nafiu Kotarkoshi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), detailed the assault, noting that the attackers—armed with sophisticated weaponry—breached the school perimeter around 4 a.m. A police tactical unit engaged the assailants in a firefight, but the bandits scaled the fence and fled with the victims to an undisclosed location.
“Unfortunately, the suspected bandits had already… abducted twenty-five students… to an unknown destination,” Kotarkoshi said, confirming the death of a school staffer during the chaos. He clarified that a local guard identified as Ali was injured, not killed, contradicting initial reports that listed two fatalities: teacher Hassan Makuku and Ali.
The Kebbi State Government echoed the confirmation, with Chief Press Secretary Ahmed Idris stating that Deputy Governor Umar Tafida had dispatched a delegation of officials and security forces to the site for on-ground assessment and support.
Raid Amid Security Gaps
The brazen incursion has stunned residents, particularly given the presence of military checkpoints in the vicinity. One is located in Damarke, under Bukkuyum LGA in neighboring Zamfara State, approximately seven kilometers away, while another sits less than a kilometer from the school.
Community sources expressed bewilderment at the lapse, alleging the attack might have been thwarted had soldiers followed Governor Nasir Idris’s directive. After receiving prior intelligence on a potential threat, the governor reportedly ordered reinforcements from the nearby outpost. However, the troops allegedly withdrew, leaving outnumbered police to respond alone.
“The terrorists overpowered the police officers who confronted them,” one local intelligence operative with the State Security Service (SSS) told PREMIUM TIMES under anonymity. Queries to Nigerian Army spokesperson Appolonia Anele remain unanswered as of press time.
Kotarkoshi assured that reinforced police units, military detachments, and local vigilantes are actively pursuing the kidnappers. “They are currently combing the bandits’ routes and nearby forests with a view to rescuing the abducted students and possibly arresting the perpetrators,” he added.
Suspects: Dogo Gide or Falando?
The identity of the perpetrators remains unconfirmed, but security sources point to notorious bandit leaders operating in the region. Dogo Gide’s faction, known for cross-border raids, could have exploited the terrain, one SSS contact suggested. Alternatively, the attack bears hallmarks of Falando’s group, which bases in the nearby Gando forest.
“It may be the group of Falando operating from Gando forest,” a Maga-area resident speculated.
Echoes of Chibok: A Pattern of School Raids
This incident revives traumatic memories of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping by Boko Haram, which spurred a wave of student abductions across Nigeria’s Northwest and North-Central zones. Kidnappers often demand ransoms, enforce forced marriages, or enslave victims.
Kebbi’s history includes the June 2021 seizure of about 80 students and five teachers from Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri by Dogo Gide’s men. Releases occurred in phases through 2023, though some girls returned pregnant; the state now funds scholarships for survivors resuming education.
Similar horrors unfolded in May 2021 with nearly 200 abductions from an Islamic school in Tegina, Niger State, shortly after 14 Greenfield University students in Kaduna were freed. February 2021 saw 300 girls taken from Jangebe, Zamfara, most later released. In 2024, over 100 Kuriga elementary pupils in Kaduna were snatched and subsequently rescued, with authorities denying any ransom payment.
As search operations intensify, the Maga abductions underscore persistent vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s education sector, where schools remain soft targets despite federal vows to fortify security. Families and officials alike await swift resolution, with the girls’ safe return a top priority.
