Afeez Ayinde SaheedA traumatised student of Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, has recounted the horrifying moment terrorists stormed the school and abducted dozens of girls.
Khadijat Lawal, an SSS3 student, said the events of that dawn attack would remain with her for the rest of her life. We had earlier reported that the incident occurred early Monday morning when armed men invaded the school premises, forcing students into the bush.
Speaking to DailyTrust through her father, Malam Lawal Altine, yesterday, Khadijat described how she narrowly escaped. Altine, who has three children enrolled in the school, said his daughter was still shaken by the ordeal.
Khadijat recalled that she and other students were asleep in their hostel when strange voices jolted them awake. Moments later, they heard attempts to force their door open. It was just a few minutes to 5am.
She further said that panic spread quickly among the students as the intruders tried to gain access to the hostel. In the chaos that followed, she managed to slip out and hide, listening helplessly as the attackers moved from one area of the school to another.
“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 when parents and other people came to the school shouting and asking about the whereabouts of their children.
“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,” Mal. Altine said.
According to DailyTrust, 24 hours after the incident, some 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.
She said, “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 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.”
Also speaking, Amina Hassan, the wife of the school’s head of security, Yakubu Makuku, who was killed during the attack, said she was still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. Visibly shaken, she recounted how her husband was shot dead in her presence as he tried to protect the students.
Amina said the incident had left a deep emotional wound on her and their family, describing Makuku as a dedicated officer who gave his life in the line of duty. She added that his last moments were spent courageously confronting the attackers in an effort to prevent the abduction of the schoolgirls.
She said, “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.
The insecurity in Nigeria has taken a dangerous turn following the spate of attacks in some states. The security agencies are battling this scourge in many parts of the country. President Tinubu, while reacting to the insecurity in the country, stated that the issue has made him depressed.
