One schoolgirl escapes as search continues for 24 abducted in Kebbi

A schoolgirl abducted alongside 24 others from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria has escaped and returned home safely, according to officials at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State.

The school’s principal, Musa Rabi Magaji, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the student arrived home late Monday, hours after armed men stormed the school before dawn. Another girl, who was not among the 25 confirmed abducted, also managed to flee shortly after the attack.

“One is part of the 25 abducted and the other one returned earlier,” Magaji said. “They are safe and sound.”

The attack left one staff member dead and prompted a major security response. Nigerian security forces have intensified search operations across the region to locate the remaining 24 students still being held by the kidnappers.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, visited the school on Monday and ordered troops to pursue the abductors “relentlessly” and conduct intelligence-led operations aimed at securing the immediate release of the schoolgirls.

The abduction adds to a string of school kidnappings in northern Nigeria, where criminal gangs have increasingly targeted educational institutions for ransom, raising fresh concerns about student safety and the state of security in the region.