Gun-wielding individuals have fatally shot an educator and seized a minimum of 25 learners in an raid targeting a female high school in the northwestern part of Nigeria, according to police.
The armed faction invaded the public educational institution for female students in Maga, Kebbi State at approximately 04:00 local time on the start of the week, authorities reported.
The armed individuals "exchanged fire with security forces on duty in a shootout" before scaling the perimeter fence and taking the pupils captive from their living quarters, according to a statement.
A school employee was fatally shot while defending the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now being treated medically.
Witnesses reported a sizeable number of assailants, identified in the area as outlaw groups, who came shooting randomly to cause panic.
Area inhabitants told reporters that the armed men then led a contingent of young women into adjacent wilderness.
The authorities announced they had sent "supplementary tactical squads, in coordination with armed forces and community security teams" to the area.
A systematic finding and recovery effort is currently ongoing in nearby woodlands and potential getaway paths.
In the past few years, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who routinely perform seizures to seek ransom payments or gain negotiating power with authorities.
The assault in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis afflicting the area, causing relatives in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they anticipate and pray for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Protection challenge in northern Nigeria has worsened considerably in recent months, with learning centers experiencing the greatest impact of the conflict.
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