•Late Brigadier General Uba in captivity (left)
A devastating succession of attacks, including the abduction of Kebbi schoolgirls and the reported killing of a Brigadier-General in Borno, has thrown Nigeria into fresh anxiety, spotlighting worsening insecurity and heightening calls for a decisive reset of the nation’s failing protection systems.
At least 25 female students were abducted yesterday when armed men stormed Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko-Wasagu area of Kebbi State, killing the Vice Principal, Mr Hassan Makuku, and injuring Ali Shehu, a security guard.
The attackers, described by residents as a large group of bandits, attacked the school at about 4:00 a.m., firing sporadically to cause panic, reports The Guardian.
After scaling the perimeter fence, they seized the students from their hostel.
Residents said the gunmen marched the abducted girls into nearby bushland.
The Kebbi State Police Command confirmed the abduction.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi, the attackers, wielding sophisticated weapons, stormed the school, opening fire as they forced their way in.
“The police tactical units deployed in the school engaged them in a gun duel,” he said. “Unfortunately, the suspected bandits had already scaled through the fence of the school and abducted 25 students from their hostel to an unknown destination.”
Following the attack, Abubakar said the command immediately deployed additional police tactical squads, alongside military personnel and local vigilantes, to track the movement of the terrorists.
“They are currently combing the bandits’ routes and nearby forests with a view to rescuing the abducted students and possibly arresting the perpetrators of the dastardly act,” he added.
He said the Commissioner of Police, CP Bello M. Sani, “reiterates the command’s unwavering determination to safeguard the people of Kebbi State,” and appealed to the public to remain calm, vigilant, and supportive of ongoing security operations.
Also confirming the incident, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Ahmed Idris, said the state government was closely monitoring developments.
“The exact number of abducted students is still being verified,” he told our correspondent.
He added that the deputy governor, Umar Tafida, had been dispatched to the school to assess the situation on behalf of Governor Nasir Idris, who is currently out of the state.
Idris assured residents that the government was working with security agencies to secure the safe return of the students and restore normalcy to the community.
Parents and residents of Maga remain in anguish as they await further updates.
ISWAP claims execution of senior army officer after deadly Borno ambush
As authorities battled to locate the abducted schoolgirls, the military faced a separate crisis in Borno, where insurgents said they had taken and killed a top-ranking officer.
Militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province claimed they had executed the officer captured during a deadly ambush on a military convoy.
The convoy, led by Brigadier-General M. Uba of the 25 Task Force Brigade, was returning from a patrol near Wajiroko village in Borno State late on Friday when it came under sustained gunfire.
The army spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but an earlier statement denied reports that the officer had been abducted, describing them as “fake news” and urging the public to disregard unverified claims circulating online.
However, in a statement posted on its Amaq propaganda channel, ISWAP claimed responsibility for the ambush and said it had executed the officer, identified as a brigade commander, after interrogating him.
The attack occurred shortly after Brig.-Gen. Uba had taken part in a successful joint air–ground operation against insurgents in the area.
He had earlier communicated with his superiors, assuring them that he was safe and regrouping with his team. Military sources believe that his communication may have inadvertently exposed his location.
He was captured alive, interrogated briefly by the militants, and then executed.
Multiple military sources said the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Abubakar, and the Sector 2 Commander arrived in Damboa shortly after the ambush to coordinate rescue efforts and boost troop morale.
“The Brigadier General who was abducted managed to send his live location to colleagues,” a senior military source said.
“They traced it and found the spot, but there was no trace of him. It’s unclear if his phone died or was seized by the terrorists.”
Another source said the officer appeared to have access to his phone under duress.
“Even yesterday morning, he made a video call to his dry cleaner but warned him not to talk,” the source said.
Troops deployed to the location he shared returned without success. One soldier who was shot and abducted alongside him was reportedly freed, but the senior officer and two others remained missing at the time.
In response to the crisis, Brigadier-General Mustapha has been appointed to lead the 26 Task Force Brigade in Damboa, while troops previously engaged in the rescue operation were withdrawn early Sunday.
Tinubu orders immediate rescue, vows perpetrators will face justice
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to immediately rescue the abducted students.
In a statement, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the President strongly condemned the attack and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to safeguarding all Nigerians, especially schoolchildren.
According to him, “President Bola Tinubu has reiterated that protecting every Nigerian, especially schoolchildren, remains a solemn responsibility of the State. The government condemns the reprehensible attack on innocent students and the killing of school officials who were carrying out their noble duty.”
He said the President issued “clear directives” to security and intelligence agencies to locate and safely recover the abducted students, with instructions that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
“The federal government will not relent until this objective is achieved,” he added.
Idris further assured the public that internal security remains a top priority for the Tinubu administration, which is “recalibrating the nation’s military, policing, and intelligence capabilities” to prevent and respond swiftly to such attacks.
He said Nigeria is also deepening security cooperation through ECOWAS, the African Union, and the Multinational Joint Task Force to strengthen border security and dismantle terrorist and criminal networks.
“We urge the public to remain calm and confident as security forces work around the clock to resolve this matter,” he said.
Atiku demands urgent overhaul of security architecture nationwide
Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar condemned the killing of the vice-principal and the abduction of students at Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, describing the incident as further evidence of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
He said, “Nigeria cannot continue on this path. I call on the federal government to urgently review and strengthen its security architecture, deploy adequate personnel across vulnerable communities, and intensify intelligence-led operations. Our citizens deserve protection, dignity, and peace, nothing less.”
In a statement posted on X, Atiku also condemned the killing of an All Progressives Congress chieftain, Umar Moriki, and the mass abductions in Tsafe Local Council of Zamfara State, where entire families, including women and children, were kidnapped by armed men.
He noted that similar violent attacks and displacements were being recorded in Plateau, Benue and other states, adding that residents in Shanono Local Council of Kano State were fleeing their homes in fear.
Atiku urged the federal government to urgently overhaul the country’s security framework, strengthen deployments to vulnerable communities and intensify intelligence-driven operations.
Ohanaeze chieftain faults govt, says insecurity now systemic failure
Similarly, a legal practitioner and chieftain of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Goddy Uwazurike, condemned the latest attack on the girls’ school in Kebbi State, describing it as a grave violation of the constitutional duty of government to safeguard citizens.
Uwazurike said the 1999 Constitution clearly assigns the security and welfare of the people as the primary responsibility of government at all levels—federal, state and local.
He added that the constitution “guarantees our rights to liberty, education, movement, dignity of the human person, qualitative education and freedom from religious domination.”
He described the abduction as “an unmitigated assault on the sovereignty of Nigeria, eleven and a half years after the Chibok abduction.”
Highlighting what he termed a disturbing pattern, he noted: “The common factor in both abductions is that the man who was the Governor of Borno State when Chibok happened is today the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Both Kebbi and Borno are states within the same country.”
Uwazurike said the incident underscores a failure of security agencies.
“As always, the ubiquitous military checkpoints failed to detect the terrorists as they rode their motorcycles in groups of about 100 for long distances, and military intelligence failed to detect danger,” he said.
He criticised successive APC-led governments for what he described as a soft approach to insecurity. He recalled that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari pushed for the term “bandits” rather than “terrorists,” and accused the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of “treating the outlaws with kid gloves.”
