Two female students kidnapped alongside at least 25 other children and a teacher from a boarding school in Kebbi State, north-western Nigeria, have successfully escaped from their abductors, local authorities have confirmed.
The girls fled on Monday as the armed militants were marching them into the bush following the early-morning attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town. According to Hussaini Aliyu of the Danko Wasagu council, the pair took advantage of a moment of uncertainty to break away and run across nearby farmland to safety.
“They are back and safe,” Aliyu said, adding that one of the girls sustained a leg injury while running and is receiving medical care.
The attack, carried out around 04:00 (03:00 GMT), left two school staff members dead—a teacher who confronted the attackers in an attempt to protect the students and a security guard who later died in hospital from gunshot wounds. The guard’s granddaughter and great-granddaughter are among those still being held.
Security forces, including soldiers, police officers and local volunteers, are currently combing dense forest areas in the state in search of the remaining captives. Nigeria’s army chief of staff, Maj Gen Waidi Shaibu, ordered troops to remain relentless in the mission, telling them, “You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children.”
Over the last decade, schools in northern Nigeria have faced increasing attacks by armed groups locally referred to as “bandits,” who carry out kidnappings to demand ransom or bargain with authorities.
Police reported that the attackers opened fire on officers stationed at the school before scaling the perimeter fence and storming the girls’ hostel. Many families of the missing students remain gathered at the school, anxiously awaiting any news.
One father, whose daughter remains in captivity, described the anguish of waiting without answers. Speaking to BBC Hausa, he said both his daughters had tried to hide in a school toilet when the armed men arrived. However, when the attackers threatened to kill anyone who did not come out, one of his daughters surrendered in fear.
“My family has been crying non-stop,” he said. “It’s hard to go back home and look at their faces.”
Nigeria’s central government expressed deep concern following the attack. In a statement, Information Minister Mohammed Idris Malagi said the government “shares in the pain” of affected families and is working urgently to rescue the students.
He added that President Bola Tinubu remains “unwavering in his commitment to protect every Nigerian, especially schoolchildren,” as communities across the region continue to grapple with worsening insecurity.
Families of the victims say they are living in terror, unable to eat or sleep as the search continues.
The mass abduction has once again revived concerns about student safety and the ongoing security crisis in northern Nigeria, where schools have become prime targets in recent years.
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