Army Chief Orders Intensified Operation to Rescue Abducted Kebbi Schoolgirls

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has directed troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA to ramp up search-and-rescue efforts for the schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State.

Bandits had attacked Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, on Monday, killing the vice principal, Hassan Yakubu Makuku, and kidnapping 25 students.

According to counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, the army chief arrived in Kebbi on Monday alongside senior officers from the Army Headquarters. Shaibu met with frontline commanders, ordering sustained, round-the-clock operations until every abducted student is found. He stressed that determination and intelligence-driven missions were key to defeating the criminals.

“You must continue day and night. We must find these children,” he told the troops, urging commanders to act decisively on intelligence and maintain full commitment to the mission.

Shaibu also held separate meetings with local vigilantes and hunters assisting security forces. He underscored the need for stronger collaboration, citing their deep knowledge of the terrain.

“If we have people like you working with us, your intelligence will guide us. Your hunters should move through every part of these forests soldiers will join you,” he said, assuring them of military support and vowing that bandits would not be allowed to scare children away from school.

Earlier, the army chief visited the traditional ruler of Danko, Abubakar Allaje, and the school’s principal, Rabi Magaji, to offer condolences. Shaibu reaffirmed the military’s commitment to rescuing the abducted girls unharmed.

“We are fully committed. The safety of these children is a national priority, and every resource is being deployed to bring them home safely,” he said.