Nigeria's Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Dare, has underscored the critical importance of deepened international cooperation in addressing the nation's protracted battle against insurgency, banditry, and mass abductions, asserting that no single country can tackle such transnational threats in isolation.
Mr. Dare's comments, shared via his official social media account on November 19, were prompted by the latest in a series of distressing school attacks: the November 17 pre-dawn raid on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga town, Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Armed assailants, arriving on multiple motorcycles and wielding sophisticated rifles, stormed the boarding facility around 4:00 a.m., killing the school's vice principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, and a security guard who resisted the intrusion. The gunmen abducted 25 female students, all aged between 12 and 17, directly from their dormitories after sporadic gunfire that overwhelmed limited on-site security.
Encouraging developments emerged within 24 hours, as two of the abducted girls managed to escape their captors and return safely to their families by Monday evening, according to school principal Musa Rabi Magaji and local authorities. Security operations, involving Nigerian Army tactical units, police special forces, local vigilantes, and hunters familiar with the dense surrounding forests, have been intensified.
Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, Chief of Army Staff, personally visited the region to direct "intelligence-driven, relentless day-and-night pursuits," emphasizing that "success is not optional." Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has also assured residents of ongoing rescue efforts, while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has postponed international engagements to monitor the situation closely and directed swift action from security agencies.
This incident marks the most significant mass school kidnapping in Nigeria since March 2024, when over 280 pupils were seized in Kaduna State's Kuriga town (most later rescued). It echoes the infamous 2014 Chibok abduction by Boko Haram insurgents, where 276 girls were taken, sparking global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
However, experts note that the Maga attack aligns more closely with patterns seen in northwestern Nigeria, where criminal gangs—locally termed "bandits"—operate vast rural networks for ransom-driven kidnappings rather than ideological jihadism. These groups exploit porous borders, ungoverned forests, and socioeconomic grievances, including farmer-herder clashes and illegal mining. Over 1,500 students have been abducted across northern states in the past decade, with many released after ransom payments despite a federal ban on such transactions.
In his statement, Mr. Dare highlighted longstanding bilateral ties with the United States as a cornerstone of Nigeria's counter-insurgency strategy: "Nigeria has never claimed it can defeat these evolving threats unilaterally. Our strategic alliance with the U.S. has proven essential, from American special forces providing specialized training to Nigerian naval and counter-terrorism units during the peak Boko Haram campaigns post-Chibok, to ongoing intelligence sharing, equipment support, and joint military exercises today."
He cautioned, however, that current levels of collaboration, while valuable, fall short of addressing the threat's magnitude, calling for expanded multinational frameworks involving intelligence fusion, advanced surveillance technology, and capacity-building, and coordinated border security initiatives with neighbors like Niger and Benin.
The abduction has reignited debates on Nigeria's internal security architecture, with critics pointing to intelligence failures—residents reportedly alerted authorities to suspicious movements days prior—and inadequate school fortifications in high-risk areas. Civil society groups, labor unions, and opposition figures, and figures have condemned the attack, urging reforms such as community-based early-warning systems and increased funding for the armed forces.
President Tinubu's administration has rejected characterizations of the violence as primarily religiously motivated, describing it instead as multifaceted criminality affecting all faiths indiscriminately in affected regions. The government remains open to respectful international assistance that upholds national sovereignty while prioritizing domestic reforms, including the Safe Schools Initiative launched in 2022 to enhance protection for educational facilities.
As search operations continue in Kebbi's rugged terrain, families in Maga remain anxious, gathering at the school premises in hope of positive news. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of Nigeria's insecurity challenges, with over 10,000 lives lost to banditry and insurgency-related violence in the northwest alone since 2019, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations' Nigeria Security Tracker.
Authorities have vowed no let-up until the remaining 23 girls are safely reunited with their loved ones, reinforcing Nigeria's commitment to both self-reliance and pragmatic global alliances in restoring lasting peace.