By Ebi Kesiena
One of the 25 schoolgirls abducted from a government secondary school in northwestern Nigeria has escaped, offering a glimmer of hope as security forces, vigilantes and local hunters continue the search for the remaining missing students.
The girls were taken before dawn on Monday when armed men stormed the dormitory at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, a community in Kebbi State. According to police, the assailants scaled the school’s fence, exchanged gunfire with officers on duty, and eventually fled with the students after killing a staff member.
Principal Musa Rabi Magaji confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday that one of the abducted students arrived home safely late Monday, hours after the attack. He added that another student managed to slip away during the chaos of the raid and was never taken.
“One is part of the 25 abducted, and the other one returned earlier, they are safe and sound.”Magaji said.
A video verified by AP shows the two girls, believed to be in their early teens, sitting quietly among relatives and community members, their hijabs covering their heads as they appear visibly shaken by the ordeal. Secondary school students in Nigeria typically range between 12 and 17 years old.
Meanwhile, a coordinated search effort has expanded across the region. Security agencies, local vigilante groups, and traditional hunters have been combing nearby forests, where armed gangs, commonly referred to as bandits are known to hide. Additional teams have been deployed to strategic routes leading in and out of the area as authorities race to locate the remaining students.
Meanwhile, no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, but analysts say the operation bears the hallmarks of criminal gangs that frequently target schools, villagers, and travelers for ransom. These groups, often made up of former herders, have emerged from long-standing conflicts with farming communities over dwindling land and water resources.
The kidnapping adds to a troubling pattern of school abductions across northern Nigeria, where armed groups have increasingly targeted students to pressure families and authorities into paying ransoms.
