One Teacher Killed, Several Abducted, As Bandits Invade Zamfara College

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

After a lull, banditry elements have once again beamed their operational searchlight on schools. A teacher was, reportedly, killed, while several others, mostly students, were kidnapped  in Zamfara state  on Saturday night May, 10, 2025.

In a statement on Sunday May 11, 2025, the  Amnesty International Nigeria said that some heavily armed gunmen stormed Government Secondary school Tsafe, in the dead hours of Saturday  and kidnapped unspecified number of people, killing one in the process.

The body noted that the incident which occurred from Saturday night to the early hours of Sunday underscores the failure of the Nigerian authorities to adequately protect lives and properties of the people.

The Source reports that the incident has, once more, brought to the fore past attacks and abductions targeted at schools in Zamfara and other security challenged states in the North.

Mass kidnap of school children had somewhat characterized part of the activities of insurgents especially in Borno,Kaduna and Zamfara states. Hundreds of school children has been abducted on several occasions.

But the trend subsided between late 2024 and early this year and normalcy creeped gradually into the education system in the affected areas.

This attack has, however, re-echoed sad memories and palpable apprehension of past activities of terrorist elements in the North West and North East regions of the country.

While confirming the incident, the Zamfara State Police Command informed that efforts are underway to track down the hoodlums and rescue the abducted victims.

The State Police Command spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar who gave the name of the dead teacher as Mallam Kabiru, noted that his wife and two other female residents of the College’s staff quarters were taken away by the attackers.

According to Abubakar, the attackers targeted the staff quarters of the secondary school and noted that Kabiru was shot following his attempt to resist the bandits.

“They (bandits) invaded the staff quarters of the Government Secondary School on Saturday night.

“They wanted t him (the deceased) but he resisted them .That was when he was shot .His wife and two others were later taken away”, the Police Spokesman stated.

He, however, assured that Operatives of the Police Tactical Squad and other security agencies in the state have been mobilized to go after the attackers.

Instructively, Saturday’s attack and kidnaps came on the heels of an emergency parley of Northern Governors Forum in Kaduna to brainstorm on the recent resurgence of terrorist activities in the region.

At their meeting held in Kaduna on Saturday, the Northern Governors among other things expressed concern over the recent resurgence of terrorist activities in the region.

They, therefore, called for an accelerated action towards the legalization of State Police as a veritable panacea to the region’s seemingly intractable security challenges .

Incessant attacks on schools and other educational facilities by hoodlums have tended to worsen the issue of out-of-school children in the Northern part of Nigeria.