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From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
Senator Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi has called for urgent and coordinated security action to ensure the immediate rescue of the schoolgirls abducted during Monday’s dawn attack in Kebbi State.
Speaking on the side with The Sun on Tuesday in Abuja during the Joint National Assembly committee meeting on Electoral matters, the former Senate Leader warned that any delay in securing critical intelligence could complicate rescue efforts and prolong the trauma for the victims and their families.
At least 25 students of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area, were kidnapped by gunmen who reportedly entered through the vast Zamfara forest corridor.
The attackers also killed the school’s Vice Principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, and a security guard who attempted to resist the abduction.
Senator Abdullahi revealed that security chiefs have already been mobilised on the President’s directive, with “no stone left unturned” to ensure the girls’ safe return and the arrest of the perpetrators.
However, he stressed that the success of the rescue operation will depend heavily on accurate and timely intelligence.
“The major issue now is whether we have the right intelligence on the movement of these terrorists. You have to act very quickly. If you allow them time and space, things get worse,” he cautioned.
The Senator drew parallels with the 2021 abduction of 11 students of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, noting that delayed response contributed to a prolonged rescue effort.
“It took the state and federal authorities close to four years before some of the Yauri girls were rescued, and when they were found, they were in extremely terrible condition. The earlier you do the right thing, the better,” he said.
Abdullahi confirmed that the Vice President and the Governor of Kebbi State were already en route to the affected area to coordinate with security agencies on the ground. He expressed hope that their presence would accelerate strategic decision-making and streamline the search-and-rescue operation.
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“The challenge now is to get direct intelligence and act as quickly as possible. We must trace the whereabouts of these girls and rescue them from their abductors,” he said.
He assured parents that both federal and state authorities were fully engaged and deploying all relevant agencies, including intelligence services, to ensure a swift and efficient rescue.
“We want the girls back as quickly as possible. No effort should be spared. I pray that the security agencies succeed in these efforts,” the Senator added.
Recall that the early-morning raid at about 4:00 a.m. shocked residents of the rural community, marking yet another episode in the recurring cycle of school abductions across Northwest Nigeria. Traditional leaders told Anadolu Agency that the gunmen operated unhindered, having infiltrated the area through forest routes notorious for harbouring armed gangs.
Kebbi police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi confirmed that a combined team of police officers and soldiers had been deployed into the forests to track the abductors and secure the release of the students.
Despite repeated government assurances, mass school abductions have persisted since the watershed Chibok incident in 2014, where 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Over 500 students across Northwest and North-central Nigeria have since been abducted by heavily armed gangs, who exploit the region’s security gaps to extract large ransoms.
The latest incident in Kebbi deepens public anxiety about the safety of schools and the growing boldness of criminal networks, even as federal authorities continue to pledge intensified operations to dismantle kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.
