Catholic priest abducted in Kaduna raid that killed another cleric’s brother; same day, bandits kidnap female students in Kebbi after murdering deputy principal.
Newsroom (18/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) In a grim reminder of Nigeria’s persistent insecurity, armed bandits carried out two brazen attacks within hours of each other on November 17, 2025, abducting a Catholic priest in Kaduna State and an unknown number of female students from a government girls’ school in neighboring Kebbi State.
In the first incident, Father Bobbo Paschal, parish priest of St. Stephen’s Parish in Kushe Gudgu, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was seized from the parish rectory in the early morning hours. Gunmen stormed the compound, overpowered security, and took the priest along with an unspecified number of other individuals.
During the raid, the attackers shot and killed Gideon Markus, brother of Father Anthony Yero, another priest attached to the parish. The Archdiocese of Kaduna confirmed the abduction in a statement signed by Chancellor Father Christian Okewu Emmanuel, who urged “all men and women of goodwill” to pray and work for the safe release of Father Paschal and the others taken.
The assault on the rectory occurred in north-central Nigeria’s Kaduna State, a region plagued by recurring banditry, farmer-herder clashes, and targeted attacks on Christian clergy. Dozens of priests and seminarians have been kidnapped in the state in recent years, with many released only after substantial ransoms were paid.
Hours later and roughly 400 kilometers to the northwest, another group of armed men struck the Maga Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. The attackers arrived around 4 a.m., just before dawn prayers, and opened fire on school staff who attempted to intervene.
The school’s deputy principal, Malam Hassan Yakubu Makuku, was killed while trying to protect the students. A security guard was seriously wounded. The gunmen then herded an unknown number of female students—at least 25, according to preliminary local reports—into the surrounding bush and fled toward neighboring Zamfara State, a known bandit stronghold.
The Danko/Wasagu area, part of the Zuru Emirate and predominantly Muslim, has seen sporadic but brutal raids by criminal gangs locally referred to as “bandits.” These groups operate from forest enclaves across Nigeria’s northwest, engaging in mass abductions for ransom, cattle rustling, and village raids.
Kebbi State has previously endured similar horrors. In June 2021, bandits abducted around 80 students and staff from the Federal Government College in Yauri. Some were freed in military rescues, but most remained in captivity for months; the final hostages were released only between April and May 2023 after more than 700 days.
No group has claimed responsibility for either of Monday’s attacks, and security forces have yet to issue an official statement on rescue operations. Local sources say troops have been deployed to both areas, though dense forest terrain and poor road networks often hamper rapid response.
The near-simultaneous kidnappings underscore the deteriorating security situation in northwest and north-central Nigeria, where criminal gangs and jihadist factions operate with near impunity despite repeated government pledges to restore order. Clergy, students, and rural villagers remain among the most vulnerable targets in a crisis that has displaced millions and claimed thousands of lives over the past decade.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Fides News
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