Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abd¥cted 23 pupils and the wife of the proprietor of Dahallukitab Group of School in Zariagi, near Kabba Junction along the Lokoja–Okene road in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The att@ck occurred late Sunday night when the armed men stormed the school premises, an institution that also functions as an orphanage, firing sporadically and causing panic among residents before whisking the victims to an unknown destination.
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Residents said the incident began around 10:30 p.m., shattering the calm of the quiet community.
One villager described the moment as terrifying, saying they heard repeated g¥nsh+ts before learning the following morning that pupils, the proprietor’s wife, and some staff had been abd¥cted.
The Kogi State Government condemned the att@ck, describing it as unfortunate and avoidable.
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In a statement issued Monday, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, confirmed that 15 of the abd¥cted pupils had already been rescued through the swift intervention of security agencies.
According to the government, security operatives led by the Nigeria Police Force responded promptly to the incident, helping to limit the scale of the att@ck. Efforts are ongoing to rescue those still in captivity.
Authorities also raised concerns over the growing number of unregistered schools and orphanages operating in remote areas, warning that such facilities are highly vulnerable to att@cks.
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The government urged operators of similar institutions to comply with registration requirements and work closely with authorities to ensure proper security measures.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kogi State Police Command had yet to release an official statement on the incident, as attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer were unsuccessful.
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