25 girls kidnapped from Nigerian school, vice principal killed in armed attack: What we know so far

File photo of Nigerian police officers used for representational purpose.

At least 25 students from a government girls’ boarding school in northwestern Nigeria were kidnapped early Monday after a group of armed men attacked the campus, killing a school official and injuring another, authorities said.

The incident took place around 4 am local time at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town. Police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi told Reuters that the attackers, armed with rifles, stormed the school compound and exchanged fire with security personnel before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the students.

“The assailants used coordinated tactics to enter the school and escape with the students,” Kotarkoshi said. He added that the school’s Vice Principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, was shot dead while trying to resist the attackers. Another staff member suffered gunshot wounds and is being treated at a nearby hospital.

Police said a search-and-rescue operation is underway. Tactical police teams, soldiers, and local vigilante groups have been deployed to comb nearby forests and potential escape routes. “We are using all available resources to ensure the safe rescue of the girls,” the police spokesperson said.

Nigeria has witnessed a series of such attacks in recent years, especially in the country’s northwest, where armed gangs often kidnap students to demand ransom. In 2024 alone, more than 100 children, most aged 12 or younger, were abducted by gunmen.

The abductions have drawn international condemnation and revived painful memories of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping, when more than 200 schoolgirls were seized by Boko Haram militants in Borno State. That incident sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

Human rights groups say the government has failed to protect students in vulnerable rural areas. Last year, Amnesty International accused the Nigerian army of detaining women and girls who had escaped Boko Haram captivity, claiming the military suspected them of aiding the group. The army denied the allegations.

The latest kidnapping once again highlights the worsening security crisis in Africa’s most populous country, where criminal gangs, insurgents, and militias continue to operate with little restraint despite repeated government pledges to restore order.