The Nigerian military has launched an investigation into allegations that troops were pulled out of a school in Kebbi State shortly before bandits abducted 25 girls.
A statement from Defence Headquarters said it was reviewing the circumstances surrounding troop movements at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, after the state governor claimed soldiers left the premises just 30 minutes before Thursday’s attack.
Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris had demanded that the military identify who ordered the alleged withdrawal.
The military stressed that all troop deployments are guided by intelligence assessments and the wider regional security situation, but pledged to take “immediate corrective action” if any lapses are found.
In the same statement, the military condemned the abduction of the 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi as well as an attack on St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara local government area of neighbouring Niger State.
It said troops were fully engaged in operations to rescue all the abducted girls and apprehend those responsible.
School abductions by armed gangs seeking ransoms have become a recurring threat in northern Nigeria since the 2014 mass kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State.