The Kebbi State Governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, has expressed sadness over the failure to act on credible intelligence provided by the Department of State Services (DSS), which revealed a clandestine plot to attack the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.
The governor also announced the establishment of a special investigation panel to determine how, despite the DSS intelligence and efforts by the state government, the abductors were still able to strike.
This came as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters killed M. Uba, a brigadier general, following the ambush of a convoy of soldiers and operatives of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno state.
The panel, which will also oversee the safe return of the kidnapped students, will be headed by the State DSS director.
Related News:
- Terrorism: Bandits Implicate Nigerian Government in Sponsorship as Financiers Emerge
- Tinubu Yields to Pressure, Seeks Global Support Against Terrorism
- Helpless Father, Crying Children: Inside Nigeria’s Growing Insecurity
Suspected gunmen attacked the school in the early hours of Monday, reportedly shooting dead the vice-principal and kidnapping 25 female students. Three of the students managed to escape.
A top security source revealed that Governor Idris, who arrived at the school at about 6:45 pm on Monday, accused unnamed security agencies of sabotaging security efforts made by his administration.
“This is clear sabotage. We received credible intelligence from the DSS that this school was likely to be attacked. The DSS further advised that we convene an emergency Security Council meeting, which we did. The decision was that we would provide round-the-clock protection for the students,” said the governor.
He stated that he took the DSS report seriously, bearing in mind that the failure to act on similar intelligence led to the December 2020 kidnapping of over 300 pupils of a school in Kankara, Katsina State.
The governor lamented that deployments had been made to secure the school.
“The heavily armed security personnel spent time taking photographs with the students, only to abandon them 30 minutes before the attack,” he further revealed.
One of the teachers who managed to escape said that, given the presence of several armed uniformed men deployed to the school on Sunday—who spent considerable time interacting with the students and teachers and teaching them emergency drills—he was shocked at the tragic turn of events.
“The heavily armed security personnel spent the entire night guarding the school. Sadly, for reasons yet to be determined, they reportedly left the school before dawn. About 30 minutes after they withdrew, the kidnappers struck, abducting the students,” the teacher said.
“I believe it was the accuracy and credibility of the intelligence supplied by the DSS on the school that led Governor Idris to appoint their director to head the special committee he set up.
“The good news is that there is sufficient reason to believe that the girls were kidnapped, not killed. With ongoing efforts by the federal and state governments, we are hopeful that they will all be rescued,” he declared.
Wife of killed Vice Principal Speaks
Wife of slain Vice Principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku recounted night bandits killed her husband, and abducted Kebbi schoolgirls during the attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) Maga in Kebbi, has recounted the incident.
”They Were Young Men in Army Camouflage, Speaking Fulani — Wife of Kebbi Vice Principal k+lled by B@ndits recounted.
Amina Hassan, narrated how bandits stormed their home and killed her husband before abducting dozens of schoolgirls.
The attack happened around 3:30 am when heavily armed men in army camouflage invaded the area.
The Kebbi State Police Command earlier confirmed that at least 25 students were kidnapped from the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, the attackers engaged security personnel in a g¥n battle before scaling the fence, forcing their way into the hostel, killing one staff member and injuring another.
Speaking in an interview with DW, Amina said she initially thought the noise outside the house came from cows entering their farm. She woke her husband, but before they could react, the door was pushed open by armed men. She described the attackers as young men dressed in army camouflage uniforms.
From their voices, she believed they were Fulani. Amina said the gunmen threatened to kill her husband if he tried anything. He pleaded to be allowed to pray before they executed him, and they agreed. After he finished praying, they shot him dead.
When she attempted to go near his body, they warned they would kill her too. She added that the men tried to take her away, but she refused, telling them she would not follow them after they had just killed her husband.
The attackers then ordered her children to go inside and lie down. When the bandits eventually left, she tried to escape with her children but realised the entire area, including the school hostels, had been surrounded by the armed men.
