Authorities have confirmed that one of the 25 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, has escaped, as security forces and local hunters step up the search for the remaining captives.
The girls were seized before dawn on Monday when armed men stormed the boarding school in northwestern Nigeria. School principal Musa Rabi Magaji said the escapee returned home late Monday, while another student managed to flee during the attack and was never taken. “They are safe and sound,” Magaji told The Associated Press.
A verified video shows the two girls, believed to be in their early teens, reunited with family members in their village.
The abduction triggered heightened security operations. Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, ordered troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA to intensify search-and-rescue missions, directing “intelligence-driven operations and relentless day-and-night pursuit of the abductors.”
“We must find these children. Act decisively and professionally on all intelligence. Success is not optional,” he said.
Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris visited the school on Monday, promising swift action to recover the missing girls.
Residents of Maga recounted the terrifying pre-dawn raid. Abdulkarim Abdullahi said gunfire erupted suddenly as attackers arrived on multiple motorcycles. The gunmen also killed the school’s vice principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku. His wife, Amina Hassan, said the attackers asked for him by name before shooting him. “They told him, ‘We are here to kill you,’” she recalled.
In response to the escalating crisis, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday dispatched Vice President Kashim Shettima to Kebbi State to meet grieving families and assure them of ongoing rescue efforts.
As of Tuesday night, independent verification of all details was ongoing, while security teams continued searching surrounding villages and forests. The attack adds to the wave of insecurity affecting northern Nigeria, where armed groups routinely target schools, travelers, and rural communities.
