On Monday, November 17th, 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped and their school vice-principal was killed during an attack in Kebbi State. A top Nigerian general has ordered his troops to fight “day and night” to rescue the girls.
Major General Waidi Shaibu—recently promoted to chief of army staff—told troops deployed to Kebbi State:
You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children.
The raid on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School was carried out by criminal gangs known for killing and abduction.
The incident has been seized upon by followers of U.S. president Donald Trump, who highlighted the kidnapping to echo claims of the persecution of Nigeria’s Christians. The Nigerian government has rejected this narrative, insisting that the country’s security crises have resulted in more Muslim deaths.
