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We’ve been unable to eat, sleep since our girl’s were taken away
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No one knows condition of my 13-year-old girl – Distraught dad
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Invasion was like horror movie – School matron
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Imams declare fasting and prayers as govt intensifies rescue operations
From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
For the people of Maga in Dankowasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Monday, November 17, 2025 would forever remain a sad memory.
At about 3:30AM, bandits stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School located in the heart of the town and abducted 25 schoolgirls and whisked them away to unknown destination, shattering the peace that existed in the Zuru Emirate.
The gunmen didn’t just whisk away the little girls, they left a trail of blood, having gunned down the chief security man of the school, identified as Mallam Hassan Yakubu Makuku in the presence of his wife and two-year-old baby.
Amina Hassan, wife of the slain guard, while narrating her ordeal in tears, told Saturday Sun that the invaders shot her husband dead despite her passionate appeal to them to spare him.
“We were in bed with my husband at about 3.30am early Monday morning when I heard a strong push against our door. I thought some goats were about breaking the entrance in search of pasture, but when the door opened, a band of bandits rushed inside, pointing a gun at my husband.
“He began reciting ‘Allahu Akbar’, and instructed me to do the same, which I did. My husband pleaded with them not to shoot him, but they opened fire and killed him on the spot. I wanted to touch his body but they warned me that if I dared, they would give me the same treatment,” she said.
Amina disclosed that the killers of her husband were so callous to the extent that they slapped her two-year old baby, who cried while the operation lasted.
Agony of parents
Tukur Sani, father of 17-year-old Surayya Tukur, an SS 3 student, who was among the abducted students said, “Since morning to this moment, I have not eaten because of anguish and anxiety, I just want to see my daughter, I’m appealing to the government to hasten the rescue of these children.”
Another parent, Mallam Lawal Altine, father of Hawwa’u Altine, who was also among the kidnapped girls said, “My daughter is in JSS. I can’t return home because her mother has been crying all day. I remain prayerful that God will secure their release without any harm.”
For Mallam Nazif Isa, father of Khadija Nazif, a 13-year-old student of the school, who was among the abducted girls, the day was like a nightmare, which he said shouldn’t have come to reality.
“I understand a little bit of English language. I heard a high ranking army officer who came from Abuja to study the situation in Maga, giving command to the troops to rescue the kidnapped girls with the gallantry of soldiers. I am praying for that to happen. We are highly upset, we can’t even eat,” Nazif agonised.
The matron’s account
Hajiya Rabi Maga, matron of the school, who has been in the college since it was established 17 years ago, said the invasion was like a horror film, beyond human comprehension.
“This incident is the first of its kind. It was like a horror film. Early this Monday morning, I heard girls crying, ‘some gunmen had invaded our hostels.’
“The bandits broke the padlocks and the chain that secured the door. They burst into the girls hostels and began their atrocities of taking them out into the bush. We are now seeking divine intervention for their safe return.”
Roll call of abducted schoolgirls
Hussaini Aliyu, chairman of Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, gave the names of the abducted girls. They include Fatima Sani Zimri, Hafsat Ibrahim, Nana Firdausi Jibril, Masauda Yakubu Romo, Hauwa Saleh and Hauwau Umar Imam. They were taken from Secondary School 2A and Secondary School 2B.
Those abducted in Senior Secondary School 3A & 3B include 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.
From Junior Secondary School 3A, the following were kidnapped: Surraya Tukur, Hafsat Umar Yalmo, Maryam Usman, Amina Illiyasu and Ikilima Suleman.
Those taken from Junior Secondary School 2 are Khadija Nazifi, Hauwa’u Iliyasu, Hauwa’u Lawali and Ummu Kulsum Abdulkarim.
Rescue efforts
Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris who sympathised with the parents of the abducted girls during his visit to the area, reassured them that the joint rescue operations by federal authorities and the state government would bring the girls back home safely.
“Our visit to the school is to sympathise with the parents, reassure them of government’s determination to rescue their children. The essence of governance is the protection of lives and property of the people. This is our priority. This is an unfortunate incident.
“Our girls have been abducted, we are here in Maga to assure the people and inspire confidence in them that we shall do whatever it takes to rescue these children. All our security forces have been mobilised and are on the rescue mission,’’ the governor assured.
Dr. Halima Bande, Commissioner for Basic Education in the state, disclosed that two out of 26 girls abducted girls escaped from the bandits while 24 remained in captivity.
She identified the students who escaped as Salma and Hauwa’u Liman, confirming that they were back and safe.
“This is a tragedy that has put everyone around us in trauma. We don’t know where they sleep, the food they eat, or the environment they are in,” Bande lamented.
As part of efforts to ensure the safe returns of the girls, Imams in Zuru Emirate have commenced prayers and fasting to seek God’s intervention in the rescue of the students.
Alhaji Suleiman Muhammad Tanko, chairman of Zuru Emirate league of Chief Imams, has directed clerics in the 402 Jumm’at mosques in the Emirate to organise daily special prayer for God’s divine intervention in the rescue of the abducted students.
