By Reportcircle Abuja
Nigeria was thrown into fresh anxiety on Monday after bandits stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, in the Zuru Emirate of Kebbi State, killing the Vice Principal and abducting at least 25 students in a late-night assault that has rattled the nation’s security architecture.
The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, condemned the attack in the strongest terms, describing it as “unacceptable” and a direct assault on national stability and the right of children to education.
The assailants, operating under the cover of darkness, shot and killed the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Yakubu Makuku, before fleeing with a still-uncertain number of girls, prompting urgent directives from the Federal Government.
Matawalle said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had ordered security agencies to launch an immediate and coordinated rescue operation to recover the missing students unharmed.
“The government has directed a rapid security response. All agencies must work in concert to locate and secure the release of the abducted students,” the Minister said, insisting that the perpetrators must be pursued and brought to justice without delay.
He appealed for calm in the affected communities, urging residents to allow security operations to proceed without panic or misinformation.
“Our thoughts are with the families. Government and security agencies are fully engaged with the situation,” he said.
The Minister also offered condolences to the family of the murdered Vice Principal, describing his death as “painful and unjust.” “I pray Allah grants him mercy and console his family over this loss,” Matawalle said.
The attack one of the most brazen on an educational institution this quarter raises renewed concerns about the safety of schools across Northern Nigeria and the resilience of the country’s security response nearly a decade after mass school abductions shocked the nation.
