In Kebbi State, Nigeria, gunmen attacked a girls’ boarding school, killed the vice principal, and kidnapped 25 students. Security forces and local vigilantes are conducting an intensive search, highlighting persistent insecurity and repeated school kidnappings in northwest Nigeria.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Video - 25 girls abducted by armed gunmen in Nigeria
In Kebbi State, Nigeria, gunmen attacked a girls’ boarding school, killed the vice principal, and kidnapped 25 students. Security forces and local vigilantes are conducting an intensive search, highlighting persistent insecurity and repeated school kidnappings in northwest Nigeria.
Gunmen attack church in Nigeria, killing two and kidnapping others
Gunmen have attacked a church in Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers, police and witnesses said on Wednesday, days after 25 girls were abducted from a boarding school.
The attack on Tuesday evening in Eruku, a town in central Nigeria's Kwara state, puts more pressure on the government, which is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened military action over what he says is persecution of Christians.
President Bola Tinubu postponed a planned trip to South Africa and Angola for G20 and AU-EU summits to receive security briefings on the two attacks, and ordered more security to hunt down the assailants in Kwara, his office said.
The president also directed the security agencies "to do everything possible" to rescue the schoolgirls, "abducted by the bandits and bring the girls back home safe", his spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said.
Rapper Nicki Minaj appealed on Tuesday for global action to defend religious freedom. Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the Trinidad-born artist, who lives in New York, said that in Nigeria "Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed".
Nigeria is grappling with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, abductions and killings by armed gangs mainly in the northwest and deadly clashes between mainly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers in its central belt.
The government says the U.S. designation of Nigeria as "a country of particular concern" misrepresents its complex security challenges and does not take into account its efforts to safeguard freedom of religion for all.
In the latest attack, police responded to gunfire at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and discovered one person fatally shot inside the church and another in a nearby bush, said Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara state. Witnesses said they counted at least three dead church members.
GUNFIRE ERUPTS DURING CHURCH SERVICE, VIDEO SHOWS
A video posted by a local news outlet and verified by Reuters showed the Christ Apostolic Church service being interrupted by gunfire, forcing parishioners to take cover. Armed men are seen entering and taking people's belongings as gunshots continue.
The governor of Kwara asked for the immediate deployment of more security operatives following the church attack, his spokesperson said.
Authorities have not yet located the girls abducted by armed men who stormed the predominantly Muslim Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in northwestern Kebbi state on Monday. Vice President Kashim Shettima was expected to travel to the state to meet officials and parents on Wednesday.
By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters
The attack on Tuesday evening in Eruku, a town in central Nigeria's Kwara state, puts more pressure on the government, which is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened military action over what he says is persecution of Christians.
President Bola Tinubu postponed a planned trip to South Africa and Angola for G20 and AU-EU summits to receive security briefings on the two attacks, and ordered more security to hunt down the assailants in Kwara, his office said.
The president also directed the security agencies "to do everything possible" to rescue the schoolgirls, "abducted by the bandits and bring the girls back home safe", his spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said.
GRAPPLING WITH ISLAMIST INSURGENCY
Rapper Nicki Minaj appealed on Tuesday for global action to defend religious freedom. Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the Trinidad-born artist, who lives in New York, said that in Nigeria "Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed".
Nigeria is grappling with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, abductions and killings by armed gangs mainly in the northwest and deadly clashes between mainly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers in its central belt.
The government says the U.S. designation of Nigeria as "a country of particular concern" misrepresents its complex security challenges and does not take into account its efforts to safeguard freedom of religion for all.
In the latest attack, police responded to gunfire at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and discovered one person fatally shot inside the church and another in a nearby bush, said Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara state. Witnesses said they counted at least three dead church members.
"They later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush," parishioner Joseph Bitrus told Reuters by phone, without saying how many were taken.
GUNFIRE ERUPTS DURING CHURCH SERVICE, VIDEO SHOWS
A video posted by a local news outlet and verified by Reuters showed the Christ Apostolic Church service being interrupted by gunfire, forcing parishioners to take cover. Armed men are seen entering and taking people's belongings as gunshots continue.
The governor of Kwara asked for the immediate deployment of more security operatives following the church attack, his spokesperson said.
Authorities have not yet located the girls abducted by armed men who stormed the predominantly Muslim Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in northwestern Kebbi state on Monday. Vice President Kashim Shettima was expected to travel to the state to meet officials and parents on Wednesday.
Nigeria shuts some schools in Kwara state after church attack
Nigerian authorities have shut schools in five districts in central Kwara state, fearing they could be targets of armed gangs after a deadly attack on a church in the state earlier in the week.
Nigeria has witnessed a spate of attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping on Monday of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state, putting a spotlight on insecurity and forcing President Bola Tinubu to postpone foreign trips.
"The (Kwara state) government is determined to curtail the activities of kidnappers who may want to use schoolchildren as human shields," Lawal Olohungbebe, the Kwara state education commissioner, said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the school closures would remain in place until security agencies give clearance for normal activities to resume.
On Tuesday evening, gunmen attacked a church in Kwara state, which borders Benin in the west of Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers.
Nigeria is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who in early November threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.
Nigeria says claims that Christians face persecution misrepresent a complex security situation and do not take into account efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
Tinubu has dispatched a delegation led by the country's national security advisor to meet U.S. lawmakers and government officials.
Nigeria has witnessed a spate of attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping on Monday of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state, putting a spotlight on insecurity and forcing President Bola Tinubu to postpone foreign trips.
"The (Kwara state) government is determined to curtail the activities of kidnappers who may want to use schoolchildren as human shields," Lawal Olohungbebe, the Kwara state education commissioner, said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the school closures would remain in place until security agencies give clearance for normal activities to resume.
On Tuesday evening, gunmen attacked a church in Kwara state, which borders Benin in the west of Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers.
Nigeria is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who in early November threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.
Nigeria says claims that Christians face persecution misrepresent a complex security situation and do not take into account efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
Tinubu has dispatched a delegation led by the country's national security advisor to meet U.S. lawmakers and government officials.
President Tinubu delays G20 trip amid search for 24 abducted schoolgirls
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has postponed his trip to South Africa for the Group of 20 summit, promising to intensify efforts to rescue 24 schoolgirls abducted by armed men earlier this week.
The president’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Wednesday that Tinubu suspended his departure in light of the girls’ abduction and a separate church attack in which gunmen killed two people.
Tinubu had been set to leave on Wednesday, days before the two-day summit of the world’s leading rich and developing nations was due to begin on Saturday.
“Disturbed by the security breaches in Kebbi State and Tuesday’s attack by bandits against worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, President Tinubu decided to suspend his departure” to the G20 summit, Onanuga said.
It was not clear immediately if or when Tinubu would leave for the weekend summit in Johannesburg.
Search for abducted girls ongoing
The schoolgirls were abducted by unidentified armed men from a secondary school in the northwestern town of Maga in Kebbi State late on Sunday night.
The attackers exchanged gunfire with police before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the students.
One of the girls managed to escape, authorities said, but the school’s vice principal was killed. No group immediately claimed responsibility for abducting the girls, and their motivation was unclear.
Authorities say the gunmen are mostly former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over strained resources.
In a separate attack on a church in western Nigeria on Tuesday, armed men killed two people during a service that was recorded and broadcast online.
Supporters of United States President Donald Trump have seized on the violence to embolden their claim that Christians are under attack in Nigeria.
Trump has threatened to invade Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” over what right-wing lawmakers in the US allege is a “Christian genocide“.
Nigeria has rejected the US president’s statements, saying more Muslims have been killed in the country’s various security crises.
The president’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Wednesday that Tinubu suspended his departure in light of the girls’ abduction and a separate church attack in which gunmen killed two people.
Tinubu had been set to leave on Wednesday, days before the two-day summit of the world’s leading rich and developing nations was due to begin on Saturday.
“Disturbed by the security breaches in Kebbi State and Tuesday’s attack by bandits against worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, President Tinubu decided to suspend his departure” to the G20 summit, Onanuga said.
It was not clear immediately if or when Tinubu would leave for the weekend summit in Johannesburg.
Search for abducted girls ongoing
The schoolgirls were abducted by unidentified armed men from a secondary school in the northwestern town of Maga in Kebbi State late on Sunday night.
The attackers exchanged gunfire with police before scaling the perimeter fence and abducting the students.
One of the girls managed to escape, authorities said, but the school’s vice principal was killed. No group immediately claimed responsibility for abducting the girls, and their motivation was unclear.
Authorities say the gunmen are mostly former herders who have taken up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over strained resources.
In a separate attack on a church in western Nigeria on Tuesday, armed men killed two people during a service that was recorded and broadcast online.
Supporters of United States President Donald Trump have seized on the violence to embolden their claim that Christians are under attack in Nigeria.
Trump has threatened to invade Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” over what right-wing lawmakers in the US allege is a “Christian genocide“.
Nigeria has rejected the US president’s statements, saying more Muslims have been killed in the country’s various security crises.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Teacher killed and 25 girls abducted in gunbattle at Nigerian school
Armed men have killed a teacher and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on a girls' secondary school in north-western Nigeria, police say.
The gang invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 04:00 local time (0300 GMT) on Monday, they said.
The attackers "engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel" before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their hostel, a statement said.
One member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.
Residents told the BBC that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bushland.
The police said they had deployed "additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes.
Over the past decade, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government.
As well as trying to crack down on the kidnappers, Nigeria has also banned the payment of ransoms in an attempt to make it less lucrative.
This is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state.
The attack in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their daughters' safe return.
Chris Ewokor and Mansur Abubakar, BBC
The gang invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 04:00 local time (0300 GMT) on Monday, they said.
The attackers "engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel" before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their hostel, a statement said.
One member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students. A second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.
Residents told the BBC that the gunmen subsequently marched a number of girls into nearby bushland.
The police said they had deployed "additional police tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups" to the area.
A coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes.
Over the past decade, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government.
As well as trying to crack down on the kidnappers, Nigeria has also banned the payment of ransoms in an attempt to make it less lucrative.
This is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state.
The attack in Kebbi State highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in Maga in a state of fearful exhaustion as they wait and hope for their daughters' safe return.
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