The wife of the vice principal killed during the attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) Maga in Kebbi, Amina Hassan, has narrated how the incident unfolded.
Bandits invaded the school early Monday morning, killing Hassan Yakubu Makuku, the vice principal, and abducting 25 students.
Speaking to journalists, Amina said the family had been asleep when unfamiliar movements outside their window woke her around 3:30 am.
“I heard movements behind our window,” she said.
Thinking it was animals causing trouble, she attempted to wake her husband.
“Before I knew it, there was a bang on our door and it was forcefully opened. So I tapped my husband to tell him that the animals have gotten into the house and they are really destroying our things,” she said.
Once they got up, it became clear the intruders were not animals but armed robbers. A struggle followed, during which one of the attackers shot her husband.
Amina said the men then dragged her outside.
“I told them to leave me alone and that I would not go with them since they have killed the father of my children and they are asking the children to go in and sleep,” she said.
At that point, Amina’s daughter stepped outside, diverting the attackers’ attention.
“Then they left me and went to her and took her with them, leading them to the hostel,” she added.
“They told her to lay down so they can shoot her too. So she told them: ‘I should lay down so that you can shoot me.’ They said: ‘Yes’.
“So she asked that they allow her to go and ease herself. But then they opened the door and saw other girls, and their attention was shifted from my girl. That was how she was able to escape into the bush. By the time she came back, it was already morning.”
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate rescue of the abducted students. According to a statement by Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, Tinubu condemned the attack and reiterated the federal government’s commitment to safeguarding all Nigerians, especially schoolchildren.