One of 25 schoolgirls kidnapped from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state has managed to escape and return home, the school principal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The girls were abducted when gunmen attacked a high school before dawn on Monday, taking 25 students and killing a staff member.
The student who escaped fled through the forest and arrived home late Monday, just hours after the kidnapping at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, said Musa Rabi Magaji, the school principal.
Another student, who was not among the 25 confirmed abducted, also returned safely shortly after the attack, the principal added.
“One is part of the 25 abducted, and the other returned earlier,” Magaji said. “They are safe and sound.”
Mass school kidnappings have become frequent in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs, mainly nomadic herders and, more recently, jihadis operate. Schools are often targeted to attract attention, analysts note.
No group has claimed responsibility for this incident, but analysts and locals suggest it could be one of several gangs that often abduct students, travelers, and villagers for ransom.
Authorities say these groups largely include former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities following resource-related clashes.
Experts and residents attribute the insecurity to corruption that hampers security forces’ access to weapons, the failure to prosecute attackers, and porous borders that allow gangs to obtain arms.
