Nigeria Army Chief Shaibu Vows Non-Stop Offensive To Rescue 25 Abducted Kebbi Schoolgirls

Nigeria Army Chief Shaibu Vows Non-Stop Offensive To Rescue 25 Abducted Kebbi Schoolgirls

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has ordered troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA to launch an unrelenting day-and-night assault until the 25 schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State are rescued.

Shaibu issued the directive during a visit to Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu LGA, where armed bandits stormed the premises around 4:00 am on Monday, overpowering security personnel and whisking the girls away.

 The Army Chief addressed field commanders and frontline troops, warning that bandits have adopted a dangerous pattern of targeting soft locations.

“We will continue to fight day and night until we find these students,” Shaibu declared.

“To the commanders here, leverage intelligence. Conduct an intelligence-driven operation to rescue these girls. This has become a pattern — they prey on soft targets. If they push you into a fight, defeat them.”

The Kebbi State Police Command confirmed the abduction of no fewer than 25 students during the pre-dawn assault. Police spokesperson CSP Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi said a staff member, Hassan Makuku, was killed while another, Ali Shehu, sustained a gunshot injury.

Heavily armed attackers reportedly engaged officers in a fierce gun duel before scaling the school’s perimeter fence and dragging the girls from their hostel.

Following the attack, Commissioner of Police Bello Muhammad Sani deployed additional tactical units, soldiers, and vigilante groups to sweep suspected escape routes and surrounding forests.

Sani appealed for calm and urged residents to stay vigilant, assuring that security forces were intensifying efforts to track the kidnappers and safely recover the victims.

Residents told Glintnews the abductors “have not gone far,” prompting renewed calls for rapid, coordinated action from both state and federal authorities.