IGP Egbetokun Visits Kebbi as Rescue Operations Intensify for Abducted Maga Schoolgirls

By Emmanuel Kwada

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Tuesday arrived in Kebbi State on an emergency visit, barely a week after gunmen abducted an unspecified number of schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.

The IGP’s visit comes as joint rescue operations involving the police, military, and other security agencies continue in the dense forests straddling Kebbi, Niger, and Zamfara States.

During the visit, Egbetokun is scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting with Governor Nasir Idris and later address officers and men of the Kebbi State Police Command to boost morale and strategize on the ongoing operations.

The IGP’s trip follows a high-level security briefing he led at the Presidential Villa on Sunday, where he met President Bola Tinubu alongside the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyode; Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kelvin Aneke; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General EAP Undiendeye; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Tosin Ajayi.

Sources said the meeting focused on the escalating wave of mass abductions in the North-West and North-Central zones, particularly the Maga school attack and a similar incident in Niger State.

Maga Abduction: VP Killed, Girls Taken

On November 17, heavily armed bandits stormed GGCSS Maga in the early hours of Monday, killing the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, who reportedly died while attempting to shield the students.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers operated unchallenged for several minutes, whisking away dozens of boarding female students into the surrounding forests. The exact number of abducted girls remains unconfirmed by authorities, but community leaders claim over 50 students are still missing.

Fresh Attack in Niger: 265 Pupils Still in Captivity

While the nation was still reeling from the Kebbi incident, gunmen struck again last Friday at St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

The attackers, who arrived on over 60 motorcycles and a van, shot and critically injured the school gatekeeper before abducting 315 pupils and staff from the Catholic institution.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, confirmed that 50 pupils managed to escape between Friday and Saturday and have since reunited with their parents.

Speaking through his spokesman, Daniel Atori, the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Niger State CAN Chairman, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, said 265 pupils—mostly boarders—remain in captivity.

The twin incidents have heightened national anxiety over the return of large-scale school abductions reminiscent of the 2014 Chibok and 2018 Dapchi kidnappings.

Security sources say both attacks bear the hallmarks of notorious bandit kingpins operating in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest axis.