Grief and terror gripped the community of Maga in Kebbi State on Tuesday as details emerged of a brutal overnight attack on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, leaving two school officials dead and 25 students abducted.
The assault, which began in the dead of night, saw bandits murder the school’s vice principal and a security guard before seizing the students from their hostel.
In a heart-wrenching account, the widow of the slain security guard described the final moments of her husband’s life. Speaking through tears, she recounted the moment they were awoken by the sound of armed men.
“My husband and I were sleeping in the room when I heard a strange noise close to our window around 4 am,” she said. “I tapped my husband in a bid to wake him up from sleep, telling him that goats had entered our house. He woke up and walked out of the room, only to see heavily armed men.”
The situation escalated rapidly. “When we saw them, we began to pray in the Islamic way. While doing that, they shot my husband straight in the chest. He fell and blood began to rush,” she narrated. “When I attempted to cover the hole to stop blood from gushing, they cocked their guns and warned me to stop else they would kill me too.”
The bandits then turned their attention to the couple’s daughter. “That was when our daughter came out of the room. They took her to the hostel and asked her to lie down so they could shoot her,” the mother said. “She begged them to allow her ease herself, so they left and went after other students. It was then she ran into the bush in the dead of the night till daybreak before she got to safety and returned home. That was how she managed to escape.”
Malama Amina, the wife of the murdered vice principal, provided a similarly chilling testimony. She identified the assailants as Fulani men, noting they were dressed in army camouflage.
“They forced the door open and woke him, asked him to say his last prayers. While doing it, they shot him at close range and he died immediately,” she stated.
After executing the two men, the assailants moved to the Adamu Aliero Hostel within the school compound. Survivors reported that the bandits randomly seized the girls, issuing a stern warning against hiding. “Any girl who hid would be killed,” one source quoted them as saying, a threat that sent shivers down the spines of the terrified students.
While initial reports from some sources suggested 27 students were taken, the Kebbi State Police Command has officially confirmed the abduction of 25 schoolgirls.
The tragedy prompted a swift response from the state government. Governor Nasir Idris cut short a trip to visit the scene on Tuesday, following an initial on-the-spot assessment by his deputy.
Governor Idris, who arrived in Maga village accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shuaibu, addressed journalists at the scene. He described the incident as “unfortunate” and pledged the government’s commitment to securing the girls’ release.
“Take me by my words, your children will be rescued very soon,” the governor assured distraught parents and community members. “We will go to any length through the security agencies to secure their quick release.”
The Kebbi State Police Command, in a statement issued on Monday by its Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, confirmed the abduction and killings. The statement also revealed that a joint rescue operation has been launched.
“A rescue team comprising the army, police and vigilantes has been raised to rescue the abducted girls,” CSP Abubakar stated.
Echoing the governor’s assurance, the Chief of Army Staff, General Shuaibu, vowed that the military would successfully recover the students.
“The presidential order on the rescue operations is on course and will soon materialise,” General Shuaibu said. “We assure the parents, people of Kebbi State and the Federal Government that within a short time, the army will rescue the girls unhurt.”
As the combined security forces commence their search, the community remains enveloped in a pall of fear and anxiety, clinging to the hope that the 25 schoolgirls will be returned to them safely and swiftly.
