Nigerian security forces intensified a manhunt on Tuesday for the armed group that abducted 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, in an attack that has reignited sharp political commentary among supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The early-Monday raid on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga is the latest in a series of mass kidnappings in Nigeria’s north, more than a decade after Boko Haram’s abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls shocked the world.
The incident has once again drawn attention from segments of the U.S. political right, following Trump’s recent claims that Christians in Nigeria are being systematically targeted and his controversial suggestion of potential American military action.
Military Orders Intensified Search
Speaking to troops deployed to Kebbi, the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu, directed soldiers to “leave no stone unturned” in the mission to rescue the girls.
“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” he told the troops.
Gunmen reportedly scaled the school’s perimeter fence, killed the vice-principal, and fled with the students in the pre-dawn attack.
Kebbi, located near Niger Republic, has become a hotbed for both jihadist spillovers and heavily armed criminal gangs who raid rural communities for ransom.
Tinubu Condemns Attack Amid Security Warnings
President Bola Tinubu condemned the kidnapping on Tuesday, noting that it occurred despite intelligence reports warning of a possible assault.
He urged residents and community leaders to share information with security forces:
“Your cooperation is crucial in our fight against these security challenges,”
the presidency quoted him as saying.
U.S. Political Tensions Resurface
The Kebbi State police told AFP that all abducted students are Muslim.
However, U.S. Republican congressman Riley Moore, echoing Trump’s earlier claims of Christian persecution, suggested in an X post that the attack occurred in a Christian area—despite no evidence supporting that assertion.
At the beginning of November, Trump claimed he had asked the Pentagon to draft plans for potential military action in Nigeria, alleging that Islamist extremists were killing Christians “in very large numbers.” Nigeria’s government has disputed the characterization, insisting that the country’s security crises have taken more Muslim than Christian lives.
Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar told AFP that Abuja is engaged in security discussions with Washington, but said he does not expect any U.S. military strike.
Nigeria continues to battle overlapping conflicts—banditry, jihadist insurgencies, and inter-communal clashes—that kill both Muslims and Christians indiscriminately.
Top Military Commander Killed
President Tinubu also confirmed the death of Brigadier-General Musa Uba, who was captured and killed by jihadists in Borno State last Friday while leading operations in the Lake Chad region. He is the highest-ranking officer killed since 2021.
ISWAP, the Islamic State group’s West African affiliate, claimed responsibility for the ambush. Two soldiers and two members of a civilian militia were also killed.
‘They Dragged Me Outside’: VP’s Wife Recounts Horror
In an emotional interview with Nigerian television, Amina Hassan, widow of slain vice-principal Hassan Makuku, described the moment gunmen stormed their home at around 3:30 a.m.
“We started struggling with them, and one of them pulled out his gun and shot my husband,” she said. “He dragged me outside by the hand. I was still arguing with them when my daughter came out. They left me and took her instead.”
Her daughter later escaped into the bush when the attackers became distracted.
A Disturbing Pattern of School Abductions
Monday’s attack marks Kebbi’s second mass school kidnapping in four years. In June 2021, gunmen abducted more than 100 students and staff from a government college.
Victims were released in batches over two years, many only after ransom payments; some female students were forcibly married off and returned with children.
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