Kebbi Abduction: One Schoolgirl Escapes

One of the 25 schoolgirls abducted during Monday’s deadly attack on Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State has escaped from captivity and returned home, the school’s principal confirmed on Tuesday.

The girl reportedly slipped away from the armed men and found her way back late Monday night, bringing a moment of relief to families after the terrorists—who killed a staff member—herded the students into the forests of Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area. Another student, who was not among the 25 on the official list, also fled during the chaos.

Security agencies have since intensified search-and-rescue operations amid renewed fears over the resurgence of mass school kidnappings across the northwest.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu, has ordered troops in Kebbi to conduct round-the-clock operations to locate the missing schoolgirls.

“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” Shaibu told soldiers, urging them to leave “no stone unturned.”

The latest abduction has escalated international attention, becoming a new flashpoint for right-wing groups in the United States, some of whom have seized on the incident to amplify former President Donald Trump’s claims about religious persecution in Nigeria.

Kebbi State police confirmed that the abducted students are all Muslim, contradicting assertions from U.S. Congressman Riley Moore, who had described the attack as occurring in a “Christian enclave.” Nigerian officials have consistently rejected the U.S. narrative that Christians are being targeted in large numbers, stressing that jihadist and criminal violence has killed both Muslims and Christians indiscriminately.

Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar told AFP that Nigeria remains in dialogue with Washington on security issues but dismissed the possibility of a U.S. military strike.