Daud Olatunji
Tears, fear and anger swept through Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga in Danga Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Wednesday as victims, grieving parents and widows relived the horror of Monday’s dawn attack in which bandits killed two staff members and abducted 26 students — 24 of whom are still missing.
One of the survivors, 17-year-old SS3 student, Khadijat Lawal, narrated how she watched her two younger sisters marched away by gun-wielding attackers while she hid alone inside a dark toilet cubicle.
“It was a few minutes before 5am when we heard voices trying to force the hostel door open. Then they started shooting,” she recalled as her father, Malam Lawal Altine, struggled to maintain composure.
“My sisters panicked and ran out of the toilet. They grabbed them immediately. I locked myself inside and refused to come out until I heard my father’s voice.”
Altine, who has three daughters in the school, said the family is shattered.
“My daughter survived by luck. But her two sisters are still with the bandits,” he lamented.
“I am sick with worry. We have no idea where they are or what they are going through.”
‘I won’t eat until my daughter returns’ — heartbroken mother
At the school premises, dozens of parents kept vigil, refusing to leave since Monday morning.
One of them, Hajiya Rani Maga, said she had vowed not to eat until her missing daughter comes home.
“I don’t think I can return home without my daughter,” she sobbed.
“Every minute my mind is with her. I don’t know where they took her or what they are doing to her.
The government says they are working, but how soon? The longer they stay with the captors, the more dangerous it becomes.”
‘They shot my husband for refusing to lead them to the hostels’ — widow of slain security chief
Grief was palpable at the residence of the school’s head of security, Yakubu Makuku, who was shot dead during the attack.
His widow, Amina Hassan, narrated how her husband’s refusal to cooperate with the attackers cost him his life.
“It was around 4am when they forced the door open,” she said, wiping tears.
“They ordered him to take them to the girls’ hostel but he refused. They shot him in front of me. I tried to hold him, and they pushed me aside and went for the girls. Their screams still haunt me.”
Another staff member, the gateman Ali Shehu, was also shot dead.
Residents of Maga say the entire community has been thrown into panic.
“Everyone is scared. Many people can’t even go to their farms,” said Abubakar Dabai, a relative of one of the victims’ families.
“The governor came and promised more security. We want to believe him, but we also fear for the girls’ safety.”
Aminu Usman Lawal, father of one of the abducted students, said the entire community is living in dread.
“Since that morning, nobody feels safe. We need more security so we can return to our farms and daily activities,” he said.
Another mother, Fatima Ibrahim, could only mutter one wish: “I just want my daughter back. Nothing else matters.”
Government confirms number of abducted girls, says rescue effort ongoing
The Kebbi State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Halimatu Muhammad Bande, clarified that 26 students were initially taken but two escaped, leaving 24 still with the abductors.
“There have been misleading figures in circulation,” she said during a briefing in Birnin Kebbi.
“Both the state and federal governments have deployed security personnel. We don’t know where the girls are, but we are praying and working for their safe return.”
As night falls daily on the dusty compound of the school, the wails of parents echo across the grounds. Some sit in groups reciting prayers; others wander around the deserted classrooms in silence.
For survivor Khadijat, the memory of her sisters being dragged away remains a nightmare she cannot erase.
“I keep seeing them being marched out,” she whispered.“I don’t know if they are crying… or if they are alive.”
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