Amina Hassan, wife of the slain vice principal of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School Gada in Kebbi State, has narrated how bandits stormed their home and killed her husband before abducting dozens of schoolgirls.
The attack happened around 3:30 am when heavily armed men in army camouflage invaded the area. The Kebbi State Police Command earlier confirmed that at least 25 students were kidnapped from the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, the attackers engaged security personnel in a gun battle before scaling the fence, forcing their way into the hostel, killing one staff member and injuring another.
Speaking in an interview with DW, Amina said she initially thought the noise outside the house came from cows entering their farm. She woke her husband, but before they could react, the door was pushed open by armed men.She described the attackers as young men dressed in army camouflage uniforms. From their voices, she believed they were Fulani.
Amina said the gunmen threatened to kill her husband if he tried anything. He pleaded to be allowed to pray before they executed him, and they agreed. After he finished praying, they shot him dead. When she attempted to go near his body, they warned they would kill her too.
She added that the men tried to take her away, but she refused, telling them she would not follow them after they had just killed her husband. The attackers then ordered her children to go inside and lie down.When the bandits eventually left, she tried to escape with her children but realised the entire area, including the school hostels, had been surrounded by the armed men.
Security agencies have since launched search-and-rescue operations for the abducted schoolgirls.
