Gunmen abduct 25 schoolgirls in north-western Nigeria

On November 17, gunmen attacked a high school in north-western Nigeria, abducting 25 school girls and killing one staff member. According to Africa news via AP, the abduction took place at a boarding school in Kebbi state; however, the motivation as to why is still very much unclear.

The police have stated that the girls were taken out of their dorm rooms at around 4.00 am local time. A police spokesperson, Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, stated that the perpetrators were armed with “sophisticated weapons” and exchanged fire with the guards before abducting the girls.

The school’s vice principal was killed in the attack whilst trying to protect the students, and another staff member was injured in the gunfight. In March 2024, a similar situation occurred at LEA Primary School Kuriga in Nigeria when gunmen abducted 130 school children under the age of 12.

Nura Ahmad, a teacher at LEA, said the gunmen “came in dozens, riding on bikes and shooting sporadically. They surrounded the school and blocked all passages and roads.”

During the abduction, the gunmen demanded a ransom equivalent to $690,000 in exchange for the release of the students and staff. The government refused to meet the gunmen’s demands as it had banned in 2022, for any ransoms for kidnappings.

In June 2025, another similar kidnapping occurred. Boko Haram terrorists abducted a Nigerian catholic priest along with other travellers in Borno state, northeast Nigeria.

Bishop John Bogna Bakeni told Associated Press that armed men ambushed Reverend Alphonsus Afina at a military checkpoint in the town of Gwozo.

Bishop Bakeni had briefly spoke with the kidnapped priest on the phone, and recounts that a powerful rocket-propelled grenade had hit Afina’s convoy, leading to the death of one individual and injuring others.

The kidnapping that occurred on November 17 is one of many kidnappings that have happened in the country, with Nigeria suffering from a long history of student abductions.

Despite this legacy, raids on schools have subsided in recent years, as the government has implemented security measures in hotspots, including closing schools for an extended period of time.

Africa News Via AP, Maghrebi.org