Students injured in crossfire as gunmen abduct ‘many’ from Kebbi school

Many students have reportedly been abducted by some gunmen who attacked the Federal Government College, Birnin-Yauri in Kebbi state.

TheCable understands that the gunmen, who shot sporadically at the scene, also wounded some of the students caught in the crossfire.

Police officers on the ground were said to have been overpowered during the attack on Thursday afternoon.

Five teachers were also kidnapped while a policeman was killed during the attack.

The gunmen stormed the school on motorcycles before engaging police officers present.

There is no official information yet regarding the number of students abducted by the attackers who are being reported to be bandits terrorising communities in the north.

Adeleke Adeyinka-Bode, the state commissioner of police, told NAN that the number of students kidnapped is not yet known.

“The attack took place around 12 pm, and during the crossfire between police and the bandits, some students had been injured and one police officer was also injured and another was killed,” he said.

“The principal is not in the best state of mind as I am speaking to you now, because parents have trooped into the school searching for their children. So the principal cannot make proper head count call.”

THIS ADDS TO OVER 700 STUDENTS ABDUCTED SINCE DECEMBER 2020

The attack is the latest in a series of mass abductions in schools across the northern parts of the country.

Not less than 700 students have been abducted in the attacks since December 2020.

Since April 2014 when Nigeria suffered the first mass abduction of students — then by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno state, a total of 1,157 students have been taken hostage in similar incidents.

The attackers, who are usually bandits, have released some of the students after they reportedly received some ransoms.

The security challenge has forced many schools in the north to shut down as state governors struggled to secure the country’s future generation.

The police have also been blamed in some cases. In Niger, where dozens of students were abducted in February 2021, TheCable found that the police failed to respond to early warning signals.