A calm night in Maga town turned into terror early Monday when gunmen attacked a government girls’ boarding school, killing the vice-principal and snatching dozens of students.
The raid at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School began just before dawn, around 4 a.m. Witnesses and police say the attackers, armed with rifles and acting in a coordinated way, first exchanged fire with officers guarding the school. After forcing their way in and climbing over the perimeter fence, they grabbed 25 female students and fled into nearby bushland.
Vice-principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku was shot dead as he tried to stop them, and at least one other staff member was hurt, police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi said. In response, police sent reinforcements, soldiers and local vigilante groups to follow likely escape routes and search the surrounding forests for the abductors and the girls.
Northwest Nigeria has seen a string of similar kidnappings in recent years, with armed gangs often abducting schoolchildren to demand ransom. The region still bears the memory of the 2014 Chibok abductions in the northeast, when hundreds of schoolgirls were taken by Boko Haram a reminder of how vulnerable schools remain and how painful the impact is on communities and families. Authorities say they are working to bring the girls home and to hold the attackers to account.
