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One of the 25 girls abducted at a Nigerian boarding school managed to escape and return home safely on Monday (November 17), the school's principal told the Associated Press on Tuesday (November 18).
The student arrived home later in the day on Monday, hours after being kidnapped at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the Kebbi state, Principal Musa Rabi Magaji confirmed. Another student, who was not among the 25 reported to be abducted, managed to fend off the attack.
“One is part of the 25 abducted (and) the other one returned earlier,” Magaji said via the Associated Press. “They are safe and sound.”
Security forces continue to search for the other 25 girls reported to be abducted by groups of armed gunmen just before dawn on Monday during an incident that resulted in one staff member being killed and another injured. Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu ordered “intelligence-driven operations and relentless day-and-night pursuit of the abductors,” in an army statement obtained by the Associated Press.
“We must find these children. Act decisively and professionally on all intelligence. Success is not optional,” the army chief stated.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident as of Tuesday. Monday's incident is the latest school abduction reported in Nigeria's northern region since 276 students were abducted by the self-proclaimed jihadist militant group Boko Haram from Chibok in Borno state in 2014.
The school had been closed for four weeks due to security conditions, but girls were in attendance to take final exams in April 2014. Abductions are reported to be common in Nigeria's northern region as military officials have attempted to combat a rise in attacks by different armed groups in 2025, according to the Associated Press.