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US Senator Blasts Nigeria Over Kebbi Schoolgirls’ Abduction: ‘We Will Hold You Accountable’
US Senator Jim Risch has condemned Nigeria for failing to protect schoolchildren after 25 girls were abducted in Kebbi. He warned that the US will hold Nigeria accountable as rescue efforts intensify and Vice President Shettima visits the state.
US Senator Jim Risch has sharply criticised Nigeria following the recent abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, accusing the government of repeatedly failing to safeguard schoolchildren from jihadists and armed criminal groups.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, the Idaho lawmaker lamented that students—especially girls—remain frequent targets for kidnapping, forced conversion, enslavement and ransom. He warned that the United States would continue pressing Nigeria on its responsibility to protect vulnerable citizens.
“Nigeria has long failed to protect its schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal abductions, and little has changed,” Risch wrote. “As the U.S. engages the Nigerian government on the persecution of its most vulnerable citizens, we will continue to hold them accountable.”
His comments follow the deadly assault on Government Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where gunmen killed the vice principal and abducted 25 female students, drawing condemnation from home and abroad.
Another US lawmaker, Riley Moore, also denounced the attack in a post on X, urging prayers for the victims. “Please join me in praying for the 25 girls who have been kidnapped and for the repose of the soul of their vice principal, who was killed,” he wrote. He added that the attack took place “in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria,” stressing that “the Nigerian government must do more to end the rampant violence.”
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to visit Kebbi State today to commiserate with families of the abducted students and reassure them of ongoing rescue efforts.
In the same vein, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has ordered troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA to intensify their search-and-rescue mission. During a visit to Kebbi, he commanded soldiers to pursue the kidnappers relentlessly until all students are safely recovered.
“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” Shaibu told frontline troops after meeting with senior officers and field commanders involved in the operation.
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