The widow of a teacher, who was also the Chief Security Officer of Government Girls' Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, Amina Hassan Makuku, has explained how her husband was shot dead in her presence.
Amina said her world crumbled on Monday morning when the bandits stormed their residence on the school premises, killed her husband and abducted 25 schoolgirls.
She said the sound of the gunfire and screams still echoes in her mind, adding that the pain of losing her loved one is overwhelming.
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"It was at about 4am on Monday when my husband and I were in bed," Amina recounted, her voice trembling with grief. "We heard the entrance door being opened, and I woke up my husband, thinking it was just goats. But then armed men burst into our room, asked him to take them to the school hostel, and shot him when he refused."
Amina's eyes welled up with tears as she recalled the tragic moment.
"I rushed to hold him, but they pushed me aside and continued to the hostel. I don't know how they managed to abduct the girls, but I heard the screams and cries. It's been a nightmare," she said, her voice shaking with sorrow.
Lawal Altine, a father of three students in the school, is anxiously waiting for news about his daughters.
"One of my daughters, Khadija, escaped by hiding in a toilet. She was lucky, but two of my other daughters are still missing. I'm worried sick about them," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.
Another parent, Fatima Ibrahim, expressed her desperation.
"I just want my daughter back. I don't care about anything else. Please, just bring her back home safely," she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion.
The community is in shock, and the parents of the abducted girls are holding on to hope that their daughters will be returned safely.
The Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, visited the school and met with parents of the abducted girls, assuring them that everything possible will be done to secure their release.
Meanwhile, the security agencies have swung into action, with the police, military and vigilantes deployed to search for the abducted girls.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, directed troops to intensify efforts to rescue the girls.
"We must find these children. Act decisively and professionally on all intelligence. Success is not optional," he asserted.
As the search for the abducted girls continues, the community remains in a state of fear and anxiety, praying for the safe return of their daughters.
Security Operatives Ignored Intelligence Report
Indications have emerged that security operatives allegedly ignored credible intelligence by the Department of State Services (DSS) which could have prevented the abduction of 25 students from Government Girls' Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.
This is even as Kebbi State governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, on Monday night fumed at what he described as the failure to act on credible intelligence provided by the Department of State Services that the school was under threat of attack.
Security sources who spoke to LEADERSHIP on Tuesday said that Governor Idris, who arrived at the school at about 6.45pm on Monday, accused unnamed security agencies of sabotaging security efforts made by his administration.
"This is clear sabotage. We got credible intelligence from the DSS that this school was likely to be attacked. DSS further advised that we convene an emergency Security Council meeting - which we did. And the decision was that we would provide round-the-clock protection for the students," said the governor.
The governor said he took the DSS report seriously, bearing in mind that a similar failure to act on intelligence led to the December 2020 kidnap of over 300 pupils from a school in Kankara, Katsina State.
The governor lamented that deployments were made to secure the school. The heavily armed security men spent time taking photographs with the students, only to abandon them 30 minutes before the attack.
Meanwhile, the governor, who was accompanied by security chiefs in the state, announced the setting up of a special investigation panel to unravel how, despite the DSS intelligence and efforts by the state government, the kidnappers still struck.
The DSS state director of Kebbi State will head the panel, which will also work to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped students.
Remain calm, students will be released, Army Chief, Governor say
Following the attack and abduction of 25 students from GGCSS, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Sunday night, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State and other top security personnel visited Maga School on Monday.
They all confirmed the incident and condemned the action by the abductors.
Lieutenant General Shuaibu directed the troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA to immediately track down the abductors and rescue the students safely so as to reunite them with their parents.
The COAS also sought the engagement of vigilantes and hunters in the area to work with the troops to get rid of the abductors.
Meanwhile, Governor Nasir Idris described the actions of the abductors as inhumane and assured that the government would do everything possible, with the support of the Army and other security agencies, to secure the release of the abducted students.
He requested the deployment of security personnel to all boarding schools in the state to ensure the safety of the students.
"Because of too much concern that I have for people, particularly students, I hurriedly left Abuja to come and see things for myself and I thank God. We will take all necessary measures to release the students safely," said Idris.
He called on people in the area to always report any suspicious movements to the nearest security agencies.
LEADERSHIP also gathered from the visit of the Army chief and the governor of Kebbi State that one of the victims escaped from the abductors.
Another confirmation indicated that the vice principal of the school, Malam Hassan Makuku, who was said to have been killed by the abductors, was not the one shot dead; rather, it was a teacher who doubled as the Chief Security Officer of the school who was killed.
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He assured Nigerians that the NAF was stepping up operations on all fronts.
He declared, "We will go all out against them."
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He announced that NAF was strengthening synergy with ground forces, widening precision-strike operations and expanding intelligence-driven missions to deny terrorists any freedom of action across the theatres of operation.
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