DHQ Questions Soldiers Withdrawn Before Kebbi School Abduction

November 29, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has summoned all soldiers assigned to security duty at Government Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State on the day terrorists abducted 26 students.

According to reports confirmed by The Yoruba Times, the personnel have been transferred to Abuja for questioning as part of efforts to establish who authorised their withdrawal shortly before the November 17 attack.

A military source told the newspaper that the move is “part of the investigation to unearth who ordered their withdrawal.”

Terrorists had invaded the school in the early hours of the morning, killing the Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, and abducting 26 schoolgirls. Two of the victims later escaped. Public outrage intensified after it emerged that the soldiers stationed at the school reportedly left minutes before the attackers arrived.

Governor Nasir Idris and other concerned Nigerians have since called for a thorough probe, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal must be fully explained.

The incident has reignited national debate on the safety of schools in the North, drawing comparisons to past mass abductions such as the Chibok case.

Speaking on the development, the District Head of Maga, Muhammad Dantani, said he had contacted the soldiers around midnight and was told they were still at their post. However, he later learned that the troops left the school around 1 a.m., shortly before the attack began.

He noted that the community is still awaiting clarity on who gave the order for their withdrawal.