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25 Schoolgirls Abducted in Pre-Dawn Raid on Kebbi, Nigeria, Boarding School

Authorities have launched a coordinated search in a region long targeted by ransom-seeking bandit gangs.

Idris Ishaq, an imam who said he’s lost his grandson, cousin and elder brother in different attacks since 2022, prays at the central mosque in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
A woman and others who were kidnapped during a church service in November 2024 waves outside her house in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Haruna Adamu, an imam who said he’s lost two brothers to violence, prays with others at a mosque in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
The Rev. Micah Bulus, left, a pastor who was kidnapped along with others from a service in November 2024, speaks with church members in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Overview

  • Police say gunmen struck the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga around 4 a.m., killing the vice principal and wounding another staff member.
  • The assailants were described as heavily armed, exchanged fire with guards, scaled the fence and seized 25 girls from their dormitories.
  • A joint operation of police tactical units, soldiers and local vigilantes is combing suspected escape routes and nearby forests to recover the students.
  • No group has claimed responsibility, and officials have not identified the perpetrators, though residents and a teacher reported a flight toward neighboring Zamfara state.
  • The attack fits a yearslong pattern of mass school kidnappings across northern Nigeria, with authorities citing criminal 'bandit' networks that profit from ransom abductions.