Kebbi Governor Blasts Security Agencies Over Failure to Act on DSS Intel Before School Kidnap

Kebbi State Governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, has expressed outrage over what he described as a shocking failure by security agencies to act on credible intelligence warning of an impending attack on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.

In the early hours of Monday, suspected gunmen invaded the school, killing the vice principal and abducting 25 female students. Three of the abducted girls reportedly escaped hours later.

Governor Idris, who arrived at the scene at about 6:45 pm on Monday, accused unnamed security agencies of undermining the security measures put in place by his administration.

“This is clear sabotage. We got credible intelligence from the DSS that this school was likely to be attacked. DSS further advised that we convene an emergency Security Council meeting, which we did. And the decision was that we would provide round-the-clock protection for the students,” the governor said.

He recalled that he acted promptly on the DSS alert, mindful of the security lapses that led to the infamous December 2020 kidnapping of over 300 students from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina State.

According to Governor Idris, security personnel were deployed to the school to guard the students. However, what followed left him “deeply disturbed.” Security operatives allegedly spent hours taking photographs with the students before abandoning their posts barely 30 minutes before the bandits struck.

The governor, accompanied by top security chiefs in the state, announced the establishment of a special investigation panel to uncover the circumstances surrounding the attack despite the advance intelligence and government’s proactive efforts.

The panel, to be headed by the State Director of the DSS, will also coordinate efforts to secure the safe return of the kidnapped students.

A teacher who escaped the attack expressed shock over the turn of events, recalling that heavily armed operatives had been deployed to the school on Sunday and engaged students and teachers in emergency drills.

“The heavily armed security men spent the entire night guarding the school. Sadly, for yet-to-be-determined reasons, they left the school before dawn. About 30 minutes after they withdrew, the kidnappers struck,” the teacher recounted.

He added that the accuracy of the DSS intelligence may have influenced the governor’s decision to appoint the DSS director to lead the investigation committee.

Despite the tragic incident, the teacher expressed optimism, noting that indications suggest the girls were abducted, not killed.

“With the ongoing efforts by federal and state authorities, we are hopeful that they will all be rescued,” he said.

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