The Kebbi State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Halima Bande, has clarified that 24 students of Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, remain in captivity following Monday’s deadly attack by bandits.
Speaking to Channels Television in Zuru on Tuesday, Bande said the attackers abducted 26 students during the invasion, adding that only two of the girls, identified as Salma and Hauwa’u Liman, have managed to escape.
“Only two have escaped so far,” she said.
Bande described the incident as devastating and emotionally draining for families, school authorities and the entire community.
“This is a tragedy that has put everyone around us in trauma. We don’t know where they sleep, the food they eat, or the environment they are in,” she lamented.
The commissioner said both escaped students were safe and receiving care.
Bande also appealed to journalists and the public to refrain from spreading unverified claims about the attack, noting that misinformation has been circulating since the incident.
“Therefore, I implore journalists and media outlets to rely only on authentic information regarding the incident,” she urged.
Recall that the assailants stormed the school in the early hours of Monday, killing the vice principal and abducting dozens of students. Security forces, vigilantes and local hunters are currently combing the forests in search of the missing schoolgirls.
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