MAGA, Nigeria (AP) — Chai! You go hear this one! One schoolgirl from Kebbi don escape from the jaws of kidnappers weh carry am and 24 of her padi dem from dormitory. This one happen early Monday morning, when gunmen invade the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School like say na football match dem dey play.
According to principal Musa Rabi Magaji, the girl wey manage to escape, arrive her side late Monday. Na small miracle! ‘Dem don dey safe and sound,’ he yan. E come carry joy come our side, abi? Another girl also japa minutes after the gunmen land, she no gree follow dem.
Local police come talk say the gunmen no just come play, dem first climb the fence, offload serious bullets as dem blast their way into the school. One staff member sweetly land for ground, may his soul rest. As wahala dey unfold, vidoe wey dey verified show the two girls dey loss in thought, surrounded by family wey don dey panic. Dem dey cover their heads, na common secondary school girls fashion!
As per security matter, dem gather all the hunters, vigilantes, and police don dey sweep nearby forest where dem go fit hide. E no be small waka dem dey catch the bandits, but no group don claim responsibility for this abduction. Analysts believe say na bandits wey dey do am, people wey don turn against farming communities because of wild battle for resources.
This Kebbi school dey very close to places like Zamfara and Sokoto, where plenty of these boys dey operate like dem suppose marry dem wahala. Governor Nasir Idris don visit the school to show support, while Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu don rally his boys for serious beta rescue mission.
So, early Tuesday morning, na only shadow meet the school dormitory and classroom. Families wey dey wait for dem children don dey raise alarm, frustrated as the news dey stretch like say na joke. Abdulkarim Abdullahi, wey get daughter and granddaughter among the kidnapped, say him hear gunshots straight from him house, like na onemanga dem dey shoot movie.
As if say na dey finish, Amina Hassan, wife of the school vice principal paint wetin happen for us. She say three armed men enter their house and straight up dey look for her husband, who also dey protect the school. Na wah o, wetin be dis? She recall how dem point gun like say na to take picture. This one pepper wey carry tears go family eye.
Insecurity no be new matter for northern Nigeria, with over 1,500 students don collect kidnapping since Boko Haram do their Chibok abduction, that one na over ten years ago. Now bandits dey join the scary party, as dem use school children abduction to gain attention.
Analysts dey blame dis matter on the system weh no dey follow through prosecution of known attackers and the rampant corruption wey dey make sure say cutlass dey reach the bad guys, while good security no fit shine their eye well. Oluwole Ojewale, one security guru, talk say, ‘if na market dem carry people go, e no fit enter headline, but when e be school children, everywhere go scatter.’
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