One of 25 girls abducted from a Kebbi school has escaped and returned home safely, according to the school principal.
One of 25 schoolgirls abducted from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state has escaped captivity and returned home, according to a report from THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. The girls were taken when gunmen attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School before dawn on Monday, killing a staff member.
Musa Rabi Magaji, the school principal, told the AP that the student fled through forests and arrived home late Monday, hours after the abduction. He added that another student, not part of the 25 confirmed kidnapped, had escaped earlier. “One is part of the 25 abducted (and) the other one returned earlier,” Magaji said. “They are safe and sound.”
Mass abductions of schoolchildren have been rampant in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs of former herders and, more recently, jihadi groups operate. Analysts say schools are targeted to draw attention or secure ransoms. No group has claimed responsibility for the Kebbi attack, but locals and experts suggest one of the gangs frequently involved in kidnappings of students, travelers, and villagers could be responsible.
Authorities have cited corruption, limited weapons supplies to security forces, and porous borders as factors worsening insecurity. Analysts note that unresolved clashes between farming communities and former herders, who have taken up arms, also contribute to the persistent threat to schools in the region.
The incident highlights ongoing security challenges in northern Nigeria, where education and safety are increasingly at risk.