Gunmen abducted 25 female students and killed a secondary school vice-principal in Kebbi state in northwestern Nigeria on Monday, police said.
There have been repeated kidnappings from schools in Nigeria’s north-west in recent years by armed gangs demanding ransom.
What do we know about the school raid in Kebbi State?
Police said the attackers had “sophisticated weapons” and were firing “sporadically” during the raid.
They “stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School” at around 4 a.m. local time (0300 UTC), according to the statement.
Police officers were deployed to the scene, but the statement stressed: “Unfortunately, the suspected bandits had already crossed the school fence and abducted twenty-five students from their dormitory to (an) unknown destination.”
One report said the school’s vice principal was shot dead and a security guard injured after he protested against the attack.
Police said officers, including additional tactical units, were searching for the gunmen along possible escape routes and in forests near the school, with the help of the army and local vigilantes.
‘Bandits’ carry out kidnappings and killings in northern Nigeria
North-western Nigeria has for years been the site of attacks by criminal gangs, known locally as “bandits”, who have been known to loot and burn houses, steal cattle, as well as carry out kidnappings and murders.
In March 2024, about 130 schoolchildren were abducted in Kuriga, in the north-western state of Kaduna.
Northern Nigeria’s most notorious kidnapping incident was carried out in 2014 by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram, which abducted 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.
While many students fled or were later released, about 100 of them are still missing.
According to a 2024 report by Save the Children, more than 1,680 students were abducted from Nigerian schools in the period 2014-2022.
Editor: Wesley Rahn