We’ll hold Nigerian government accountable for failing to protect schoolchildren- US senator
US Senator Jim Risch of Idaho has criticized the Nigerian government for what he described as a longstanding failure to protect schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal groups.
In a statement posted on X, Risch who chairs the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned that students, particularly schoolgirls, continue to face severe threats of “enslavement, conversion, and ransom.” He added that “little has changed” in Nigeria’s efforts to curb mass abductions, saying the United States would keep pressing Nigerian authorities on the protection of vulnerable citizens.
His remarks follow a deadly attack on Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State on Monday, where armed assailants kidnapped 25 female students.
During the assault, the school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku, was killed, and a security guard, Ali Shehu, sustained gunshot injuries. Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi said the attackers were heavily armed with “sophisticated weapons.”
President Bola Tinubu acknowledged that the abduction occurred despite earlier intelligence warnings of a possible bandit attack. Condemning the security lapse, he urged communities especially those in high-risk areas to provide timely information and cooperate closely with security agencies, including the military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS).
In a separate development, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to the Nigerian government, threatening potential military action if authorities fail to stop what he claimed to be ongoing killings of Christians in the country.
