Kebbi Schoolgirls Attack: Vice Principal’s Widow Recounts Narrow Escape of Her Daughter

Mrs. Amina Hassan, widow of the slain vice principal of Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, has shared a harrowing account of how her daughter narrowly avoided abduction during a deadly raid that claimed her husband’s life and saw 25 schoolgirls kidnapped.

The attack, carried out by armed bandits in the early hours of Monday, targeted the school and surrounding residences in Ribah Local Government Area, Kebbi State. Gunfire rang out as the assailants forced their way into the school premises, abducting dozens of female students.

Speaking to reporters, Mrs. Hassan recounted the terrifying moments inside her home around 3:30 a.m.:
“We were asleep when I heard movements behind our window. I tried to wake my husband to say that animals were destroying our things. Before I knew it, there was a bang on our door, and it was forcibly opened.”

She realized the intruders were armed men, not animals. During the struggle, one of the attackers shot her husband. Bandits then tried to force her and her children to follow them, but she refused.

Her daughter, however, came out of the house, drawing the attackers’ attention. Mrs. Hassan described the confrontation:
“They told her to lie down so they could shoot her too. She refused and asked, ‘I should lay down so you can shoot me?’ They said yes.”

Mrs. Hassan’s account highlights both the terror faced by families and the courage of children in such attacks. Security agencies are still searching for the abducted schoolgirls, amid rising concerns over repeated mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria.