By Joe Udo
MAGA (CONVERSEER) – In what has been reported as a deadly attack on Sunday, bandits kidnapped 25 students from the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga, Kebbi State.
According to reports, the girls were taken away by the gunmen at night at the school located in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.
According to Channels TV, the attackers killed the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, before abducting several schoolgirls.
Witnesses said the bandits operated without resistance and caused widespread panic, throwing the entire region into deep fear and mourning.
Makuku was reportedly shot while attempting to protect the students during the invasion.
Community members have been offering prayers for his soul, asking Allah to grant him mercy, a peaceful resting place, and to comfort his family and loved ones over the painful and unjust loss.
The Kebbi State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, while confirming the incident, said 25 students were abducted.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ahmed Idris, disclosed that the Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Tafida, had been dispatched to the school to assess the situation on behalf of Governor Nasir Idris, who is currently out of the state.
“The deputy governor is on his way to know the exact situation. The governor is not in the state for now, but his deputy will go on his behalf until he returns at any moment from now,” Idris said.
Record of Abductions
There was global outrage when Boko Haram attacked the Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a town on the border between Borno and Adamawa states, and abducted about 200 students in April, 2014.
In 2018, 110 students were kidnapped after Boko Haram invaded the Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi on February 19, 2018.
In December 2020, bandits took 303 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina, into captivity.
In February 2021, bandits kidnapped 317 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Science Secondary School Jangebe in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The incident happened at the all-female school located in the Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of the state.
The same month, gunmen raided the Government Science College Kagara, in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted students, teachers, and their family members from the school. 27 students were among the 41 abductees.
The abduction of the 25 students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, is the latest in the kidnapping of schoolchildren by bandits.
