The chairman of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area in Kebbi State, Hussaini Aliyu, has publicly released the names of 25 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, following a brutal dawn raid by bandits.
According to the list, the students are identified by class: Senior Secondary School (SSS) 2A/2B, SSS 3A/B, Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3A, and JSS 2.
Below is a list of the abducted girls:
JSS 2: Khadija Nazifi, Hauwa’u Iliyasu, Hauwa’u Lawali, and Ummu Kulsum Abdulkarim.
JSS 3A: Surraya Tukur, Hafsat Umar Yalmo, Maryam Usman, Amina Illiyasu, and Ikilima Suleman.
SSS 2A and 2B: Fatima Sani Zimri, Hafsat Ibrahim, Nana Firdausi Jibril, Masauda Yakubu Romo, Hauwa Saleh, and Hauwa’u Umar Imam.
SSS 3A and 3B: Salima Garba Umar, Salima Sani Zimri, Amina G. Umar, Rashida Muhammad Dingu, Saliha Umar, Aisha Usman, Jamila Iliyasu, Maryam Illiyasu, Najaatu Abdullahi, and Zainab Kolo.
The kidnapping took place in the early hours of Monday, when armed assailants attacked the school.
Police say the gunmen were “armed with sophisticated weapons”, stormed the premises around 4:00 a.m., and exchanged fire with police before scaling the school fence and seizing the students.
Tragically, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, the vice-principal of the school, was shot dead during the assault, while a security guard, Ali Shehu, was injured.
Security agencies have launched a sweeping search-and-rescue operation.
According to the Kebbi State Police Commissioner, Bello M. Sani, “additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups, have been deployed … combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests … aimed at recovering the abducted students and apprehending the perpetrators.”
Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, Chief of Army Staff, has ordered troops involved in Operation FANSAN YANMA to “leave no stone unturned” and to intensify operations both day and night until all the girls are rescued.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has sought regular updates on the rescue efforts.
He has directed Vice-President Kashim Shettima, currently in Kebbi, to work closely with security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), to ensure the safe return of the girls.
Civil society has also reacted sharply. Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), a northern women’s advocacy group, described the abduction as “a direct challenge to Nigeria’s leadership and collective humanity” and urged prompt and decisive rescue efforts.
Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) condemned the attack in the strongest terms, calling for “intelligence-driven operations” and warning against repeat kidnappings.
“Our schools must never be playgrounds for terrorists; our daughters must never again be turned into bargaining chips in the hands of criminals,” said the NANS president.
Save the Children International also weighed in, stating that “this is another painful reminder of the persistent threats to education in Nigeria … every child has the right to learn in safety, free from fear of abduction.”
The abduction has drawn comparisons to previous mass kidnappings in Nigeria’s northwest, underscoring the growing vulnerability of schoolgirls in conflict-affected areas.
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