Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has expressed concern over the sudden withdrawal of military personnel from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga less than an hour before bandits stormed and abducted several students.
Idris, speaking on Friday in Birnin Kebbi while receiving Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the sequence of events surrounding the attack was “troubling” and demanded urgent scrutiny.
According to the governor, the state government had earlier received credible intelligence suggesting a likely attack on the school.
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In response, he convened an emergency security meeting where agencies assured him that adequate measures would be taken to secure the area.
“As a responsive government, when we received intelligence on a possible attack, we summoned a security meeting. The security agencies assured us that all was well and that personnel would be mobilised to the school”, he said.
Idris said military personnel were indeed deployed, but unexpectedly withdrew at about 3:00 a.m. only for the attack to occur 45 minutes later.
“The military was deployed, but they later withdrew by 3 a.m., and by 3:45 a.m., the incident happened,” he lamented.
He described the situation as distressing for the state and the families affected, noting that the government is working with security agencies to ensure the safe return of the abducted students.
Ajaero, who was in the state to commiserate with the governor and residents, condemned the attack and urged security operatives to intensify efforts to rescue the students and prevent future incidents.
