Metro

One Of 25 Abducted Kebbi Schoolgirls Escapes

Published

1 month ago

November 18, 2025

One of the 25 schoolgirls abducted by terrorists from a boarding school in Kebbi State has escaped from captivity and returned home, the school’s principal confirmed on Tuesday.

According to The Guardian, the bandits launched a deadly attack on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, on Monday, November 17. During the invasion, the gunmen killed a staff member and abducted 25 students, taking them into the surrounding forests.

According to the principal, Musa Rabi Magaji, one of the abducted girls managed to slip away from the captors and found her way home late on Monday—just hours after the mass abduction. Her unexpected return has offered a glimmer of hope to anxious families awaiting news of their children.

Magaji also disclosed that another student, who was not among the 25 officially listed as abducted, managed to escape during the chaos of the attack.

She added that security operatives have intensified search-and-rescue missions across the area amid rising concerns over the resurgence of school kidnappings that have continued to plague northwestern Nigeria.

Meanwhile, a top Nigerian general has ordered his troops to fight “day and night” to rescue 25 schoolgirls whose kidnapping in the northwest has been seized on by US President Donald Trump’s followers.

The early Monday morning raid on a secondary school in Kebbi State was the latest abduction of schoolchildren in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria, more than a decade after Boko Haram’s infamous kidnapping of 276 girls in the northeast sparked international uproar.

It has become another flashpoint to draw the ire of the US right following Trump‘s threats of military intervention over the alleged killing of Nigeria’s Christians.

“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” Major General Waidi Shaibu, recently promoted to chief of army staff, told troops deployed to Kebbi State.

Shaibu urged the soldiers to “leave no stone unturned” in the search for the schoolgirls.

Though police rushed to the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the town of Maga, the gang had managed to scale the fence and abduct the students after killing the school’s vice-principal.

Kebbi is caught between the jihadist threat from neighbouring Niger and criminal gangs who loot villages while kidnapping and killing residents across the north of Africa’s most populous country.

Kebbi State police told AFP on Tuesday that the abducted schoolchildren were all Muslim.

But Republican Riley Moore of the US House of Representatives, in a post on X urging his followers to pray for the 25 girls, echoed Trump’s claims of the persecution of Christians.

“While we don’t have all the details on this horrific attack, we know that the attack occurred in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria,” Moore wrote.

Trump at the start of November said he had asked the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria because radical Islamists are “killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers”.

Nigeria has rejected that narrative, insisting that the country’s various security crises have left more Muslims dead.

Nigeria is the scene of numerous conflicts, including jihadist insurgencies, which kill both Christians and Muslims, often indiscriminately.

Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told AFP on Monday that Nigeria was in talks with the United States about security.

Asked whether he thought Washington would send the military to strike, Tuggar said: “No, I do not think so.”

“Because we continue to talk, and as I said, the discussion has progressed. It’s moved on from that.”

Metro

Seven Journalists On Their Way To Colleague’s Marriage, FG Reacts

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian government, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the tragic death of seven journalists who were confirmed killed in a lone road crash in the Gombe South area of Gombe State on Monday.

The incident occurred on Monday evening as the journalists were returning from a wedding ceremony in the Gombe South Senatorial District. They were said to have traveled in solidarity with a colleague from the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, who was getting married.

According to preliminary information from the Gombe State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Samson Kaura, the crash was fatal.

The Minister described the tragedy as a heartbreaking loss to the media community and the nation, noting that the journalists were committed voices who informed the public with courage, integrity, and professionalism.

“This is a harrowing moment. Nigeria has lost dedicated voices who informed, educated, and stood for truth. Their passing is a heavy blow to us all,” he said.

The Minister extended his condolences to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Gombe State Council, and especially to the families, friends, and colleagues of the deceased. He prayed that God would grant them the strength to bear the painful loss.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones. May Almighty God grant them comfort and grant the souls of the departed eternal rest,” he added.

“We stand in solidarity with the NUJ and the entire media community at this difficult time. We must continue to work together to improve safety measures for those who serve the nation daily,” he said.

He assured that the Federal Government stands with the bereaved families and the media community during this moment of grief. May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.

Metro

VIDEO: Chaos As Last-minute Shoppers Overwhelm Lagos Balogun Market

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Editor

Large crowds on Tuesday overwhelmed Balogun Market on Lagos Island as residents trooped out in their numbers for last-minute year-end shopping, crippling movement around the commercial hub.

A viral video making the rounds online showed extreme congestion within and around the market, with traders and shoppers barely able to move as they jostled for limited space in one of Lagos’ busiest trading centres.

The footage captured scenes of tightly packed walkways and stalled human traffic, as buyers scrambled to complete end-of-year purchases ranging from clothes and shoes to household items.

The gridlock is largely being blamed on Nigerians’ long-standing culture of last-minute shopping, often described as “panic buying,” where many delay festive purchases until the final days of the year.

Balogun Market, known for its wholesale and retail activities, traditionally experiences a spike in patronage toward the end of the year.

As of the time of reporting, no incidents had been confirmed, though the situation highlights the recurring challenge of overcrowding during peak festive periods in Lagos.

Watch the video below:

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐀𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭
Credit: X | dammiedammie
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— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) December 30, 2025

Metro

JUST IN: Court Orders Remand Of Ex-AGF Malami, Son, Wife In Kuje Prison

Published

4 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Editor

The Federal High Court In Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of the Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail application.

The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, also ordered the remand of his co-dedendants, his son, Abubakar Malami, and one of his wives Bashir Asabe.

Justice Nwite made the order after taking arguments from the defence team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN) and the prosecution counsel Ekele Iheneacho (SAN).

Malami and his co-defendants are facing a 16-count money laundering charge preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC alleges that the defendants conspired at various times to conceal, retain and disguise the proceeds of unlawful activities running into several billions of naira.

According to the charge, the alleged offences span several years and include the use of companies and bank accounts to launder funds, the retention of cash as collateral for loans, and the acquisition of high-value properties in Abuja, Kano and other locations.

The commission further alleges that some of the offences were committed while Malami was serving as Attorney-General of the Federation, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.