Gun-wielding individuals have fatally shot an educator and abducted at least 25 students in an raid targeting a educational institution for young women in Nigeria's northwestern region, according to police.
The gang of attackers invaded the public educational institution for female students in Kebbi State's Maga area at approximately 04:00 local time on Monday, authorities reported.
The attackers "confronted officers on duty in a gun duel" before climbing over the boundary wall and taking the pupils captive from their living quarters, according to a statement.
An educational worker was fatally shot while defending the students. An additional employee received firearm injuries and is now undergoing medical care.
Eyewitnesses described a considerable contingent of armed individuals, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to create fear.
Local residents disclosed to media that the attackers afterwards forced a number of girls into surrounding rural areas.
The authorities announced they had sent "supplementary tactical squads, in coordination with armed forces and local protection units" to the area.
A organized locating and saving mission is underway in surrounding forests and potential getaway paths.
In recent years, learning centers in northern Nigerian regions have regularly come under attack for armed groups, who routinely perform seizures to demand financial compensation or gain negotiating power with authorities.
The incident in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a condition of terrified weariness as they anticipate and pray for their young ones' unharmed reappearance.
Protection challenge in the northern regions of Nigeria has worsened considerably in the past few months, with learning centers experiencing the greatest impact of the unrest.
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