UPDATE: Police confirm abduction of 25 students in Kebbi girls’ school

The Kebbi State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of 25 students following an attack by gunmen on the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.

The gunmen were said to have carried out the attack in the early hours of Monday when they invaded the school.

Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, spokesperson for the Kebbi State Police Command, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying the attackers, “armed with sophisticated weapons,” stormed the school around 4:00 a.m. and engaged security personnel in a fierce gun duel.

He disclosed that the school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku, was shot and killed during the attack, while a security guard, Ali Shehu, sustained gunshot injuries to his right hand.

A teacher at the school reported that the assailants fled toward neighbouring Zamfara State with the abducted students shortly after the attack.

Bello Muhammad Sani, Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, said additional police tactical units, military personnel and local vigilance groups have been deployed to track down the perpetrators.

Read also: Bandits kill vice-principal, abduct students in fresh attack on Kebbi girls’ school

“The combined team is currently combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and arresting the perpetrators,” he said.

Sani urged residents of the affected communities to remain calm and vigilant, assuring them that the command remains committed to safeguarding lives and property across the state.