Gunmen attacked a high school in northwestern Nigeria before dawn on Monday, abducting 25 schoolgirls and killing at least one staff member, in a tragic incident that has left communities and families devastated.

The community is left in anguish and confusion, as no group immediately claimed responsibility for abducting the girls from the boarding school in Kebbi State, leaving their motivation unclear and intensifying the distress among families and locals.

Oluwole Ojewale, security analyst at the Institute for Security Studies, reflected on the national pain and unresolved trauma: "There is also grief at the illicit economic gains terrorists secure from these abductions, while citizens feel the government is rendered powerless and unable to shield its people. Even now, more than a decade after Chibok’s abduction, the horror is still felt, and conversations continue to center around the enduring impact of such tragedies."

Ojewale also expressed deep concern about the emotional weight these school abductions carry: "When schoolchildren are taken, the nation and the world grieve together. Strategic kidnappings like these draw the attention of UNICEF, Save the Children, and many international agencies, shining an urgent light on the pain experienced by affected families and feeding the propaganda machinery of terrorist groups."

Police said the boarding schoolgirls were forcefully taken from their dorms at 4 a.m. on Monday, a detail that has shocked parents and guardians grappling with fear and heartbreak.

The school, located in Maga in the Danko-Wasagu area, now stands as a symbol of collective mourning and anxiety, according to police spokesperson Nafi'u Abubakar Kotarkoshi.