“I Hid in the Toilet,” Student Recounts Terror as Bandits Attack School, Abduct Siblings, Peers in Kebbi

A student has recounted terror as bandits attacked her school, abducted her siblings and peers in Kebbi.

Khadijat Lawal, a Senior Secondary School 3 student of the Government Comprehensive Girls School, Maga, Danga Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, has narrated how bandits abducted her colleague and sisters, saying the day will remain etched in her memory for a long time.

Recall that gunmen invaded the school in the early hours of Monday, November 17, killed the vice principal, and abducted 26 students.

Khadijat, who went into hiding shortly after the bandits arrived at their school, spoke to Daily Trust through her father, Malam Lawal Altine, on Tuesday.

Malam Altine has three children in the school.

Narrating her experience, she said that on that day, she and other students were sleeping in their hostel when they heard people talking outside and attempting to force the door leading to their hostel open. She said it was a few minutes to 5 am.

Khadijat added that a few minutes after that, they started shooting sporadically into the air, and she and her two sisters rushed to hide in one of the school’s toilets.

“She added that when the bandits burst into the hostel, her two sisters panicked and came out from where they were hiding in the toilet, and they were immediately marched out with other girls who had been taken from other hostels in the school. She remained where she had locked herself up in the toilet until parents and other people came to the school shouting and asking about the whereabouts of their children,” Malam Altine said.

“My daughter refused to open the door until she heard my voice. She was lucky, but her other sisters are still missing. I’m worried and sick about their whereabouts.”

About 24 hours after the abduction, parents were still gathered at the school premises, hoping for the return of their children.

The mother of one of the abducted girls, Hajiya Rani Maga has not left the school premises since Monday morning when she heard of the incident. She told our correspondent that she will not eat until her daughter returns home.

Hajiya Rani, who could not control her tears, said she still finds it difficult to believe that her daughter had been abducted by the bandits.

“I don’t think I can return home without my daughter. Every minute, my mind is with her. I don’t know what is going on with her or where they took her, and I’m afraid because she is in the hands of bad people. I know the government has intervened and given us hope that our daughters will return to us, but how soon? I appeal to both the state and federal government to urge security agents to find our daughters as soon as possible. The longer they stay with captors, the more dangerous the situation will be,” she said.

Also, Amina Hassan, who is the wife of the school’s head of security, Yakubu Makuku, who was killed during the attack, said she was still in shock as her husband was shot in her presence.

“It was around 4 am on Monday, and my husband and I were in bed when we heard the entrance door being forced opened. I woke my husband up but he thought it was the goats that were there. But suddenly, armed men burst into our room and they asked him to take them to the girls’ hostel. He refused, and they shot him. I rushed to hold him, but they pushed me aside and moved on to the hostel. I don’t know how they managed to abduct the girls, but I heard them screaming and crying. It’s still a nightmare to me,” she said.

She added that another man, Ali Shehu, who was the school’s gateman, was also shot dead by the bandits.

A member of the community and relative of the father of one of the abducted girls, Abubakar Dabai, said people of the community are still in shock.

“Everyone is scared. We can’t even go to our farms, as we don’t know what will happen next. But the governor was here yesterday, and he assured us of our safety. He said the government would deploy more security agents to find the girls. We want to believe him. We will also continue to pray for the quick return of our girls,” he said.

Aminu Usman Lawal, father of Hauwa, one of the abducted girls, said he was preparing to go to the farm in the early hours of Monday when someone came to inform him of the incident.

“I just continue to wonder why this happened to me, but I know Allah will secure my girl and others. Since the incident happened, people in the community have been living in fear; everyone feels insecure. Government should help us by deploying more security agents here so that people can feel safe enough to go to their farms and engage in their daily activities,” she said.

Also, the mother of one of the girls, Fatima Ibrahim, said, “I just want my daughter back. I don’t care about anything else. Please, just bring her back home safely.”

The Kebbi State Government yesterday clarified the number of students who were taken by bandits at the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Halimatu Muhammad Bande, while addressing journalists on the school abduction incident in Birnin Kebbi, said 26 students, not 25 as reported in the media were taken by the bandits.

“Two of them, Salmat and Hauwa, escaped from them. We now have 24 of them with the bandits,” she said.

She said the clarification became necessary because there have been several misleading reports by the media on what happened at the school.

She said Governor Nasir Idris and the federal government have put every measure in place and have deployed security personnel to secure the girls.

“Let us continue to pray for them. We don’t know where they are and what they are doing to the girls, but God will bring them back to us safely,” she said.