Gunmen abducted 25 girls from a boarding school in Kebbi State at about 4 a.m., killing at least one staff member and wounding another. Police said the attackers, armed with "sophisticated weapons," exchanged fire with guards and fled — reportedly on motorcycles — while security forces comb nearby routes and forests. The federal government described the incident as the work of profit-driven criminal networks and vowed to recover the students and prosecute those responsible. The kidnapping follows a series of mass abductions in northern Nigeria, including major attacks in 2024 and the 2014 Chibok abduction.
Gunmen Abduct 25 Girls from Kebbi State Boarding School; One Staff Member Killed
Gunmen abducted 25 girls from a boarding school in Kebbi State at about 4 a.m., killing at least one staff member and wounding another. Police said the attackers, armed with "sophisticated weapons," exchanged fire with guards and fled — reportedly on motorcycles — while security forces comb nearby routes and forests. The federal government described the incident as the work of profit-driven criminal networks and vowed to recover the students and prosecute those responsible. The kidnapping follows a series of mass abductions in northern Nigeria, including major attacks in 2024 and the 2014 Chibok abduction.
12:29 AM, 11/19/2025Security
At around 4 a.m., armed attackers seized 25 female students from Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria, authorities said. Officials said the assailants exchanged fire with school guards, killed at least one staff member and wounded another before fleeing.
Police spokesman Nafi'u Abubakar Kotarkoshi told The Associated Press the attackers were carrying what he described as "sophisticated weapons." He said security forces have launched a coordinated search and rescue operation combing likely escape routes and nearby forests to recover the abducted students and apprehend the perpetrators.
"A 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," Kotarkoshi said.
Local resident Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga, who said his daughter and granddaughter were among the abducted, told reporters the attackers arrived on motorcycles and targeted the teacher's residence before moving into the school compound.
"They first went straight to the teacher’s house and killed him before killing the guard," Maga said.
Information Minister Mohamed Idris told Fox News Digital that the government is treating the incident as the work of organized criminal networks operating for profit, while investigators continue to determine whether there are any ideological links.
"This is not about religion — Muslim or Christian. These criminals attack anyone they believe is vulnerable. Our priority is the protection of all Nigerian children, and we remain fully committed to dismantling these networks and holding every perpetrator accountable," Idris said.
The federal government expressed solidarity with the families and vowed to bring the girls home safely and to hold those responsible to account. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reiterated that protecting schoolchildren is a "solemn responsibility of the State" and condemned the attack.
Context
The abduction is the latest in a string of mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria in recent years. In 2024, about 280 students were taken from a school in Kaduna State, and at least 200 people — mostly internally displaced women and children — were abducted in Borno State while reportedly gathering firewood, the U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said. More than 200 schoolgirls were also abducted from Chibok in 2014 by Boko Haram, an attack that sparked international outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
Authorities have not reported any claim of responsibility. The situation remains fluid as security forces continue search operations and investigations.