Amidst a large-scale search operation launched in northwestern Nigeria, one of the 25 female students abducted by armed militants from a dormitory managed to escape and is safe. This information was confirmed by the school principal to Associated Press on Tuesday, while volunteers and security forces are combing nearby forests in search of the remaining girls, UNN writes.
Details
The abduction occurred at dawn on Monday in Maga, Kebbi State, when armed men attacked the dormitory of the Government Girls' Secondary School. According to local police, the militants climbed over the fence, engaged in a shootout with law enforcement, then seized 25 schoolgirls and killed one of the institution's employees.
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School principal Musa Rabi Magaji reported that one of the abducted students returned home late on Monday, several hours after the attack. In addition, another girl managed to escape from the attackers within minutes of the raid and was never abducted.
One of them, out of the 25 abducted, returned earlier. They (the two girls – ed.) are safe and sound.
Meanwhile, local officials announced intensified rescue efforts: security forces, vigilantes, and volunteers are actively searching the forests, which serve as a hideout for local criminal groups.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. Analysts suggest that one of the numerous gangs specializing in kidnapping schoolchildren, travelers, and villagers for ransom is behind it. These groups are identified as primarily former farmers who armed themselves amidst conflicts over resources with farming communities.