Fear gripped Government Girls College, Maiduguri, on Monday night after students fled their hostels, claiming they had sighted “men in black with face masks” around the premises.
The scare erupted at about 8:25 pm, prompting hundreds of students to run into nearby streets in panic, many still dressed in their hostel wear. Security operatives were swiftly deployed to restore order.
The spokesperson for the Borno State Governor, Dauda Illiya, urged residents to remain calm, noting that security agencies had already brought the situation under control.
He wrote on Facebook: “A panic incident occurred this evening at the Government Girls College in Maiduguri. In response, security agencies were immediately deployed and have successfully restored order.”
Illiya said senior government officials had visited the school and appealed to the public to disregard unverified reports circulating online.
A Facebook user, Amos Adziba, posted a video showing students running out of the school.
He quoted one of them as saying that “men in black with face masks entered their hostels while they were praying in the mosque.” The student pleaded with authorities to allow them return home “so they won’t be kidnapped like the Chibok girls.”
Amos also called on security and education authorities to intervene urgently, saying, “We are calling on the Chief Security Officer of the state, the Commissioner of Police… and the Commissioner of Education… to quickly intervene before we hear bad news.”
But the police later dismissed the alarm as false. A statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, said preliminary findings showed the situation stemmed from fear triggered by some students who claimed they saw figures behind the staff quarters’ fence.
The statement titled “False Alarm on Alleged Attack at Government Girls College, Maiduguri,” noted that the panic caused a brief stampede but no casualty was recorded. Daso added that officers led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Garba Audu Bosso, promptly arrived to assess the scene.
Daso said, “The situation triggered fear, leading to a minor stampede, with no loss of life recorded.”
The Commissioner of Police, Naziru Abdulmajid, urged the public “to remain calm and refrain from spreading unverified information capable of causing unnecessary panic.”
The Police said normalcy has been restored and further updates will be communicated as needed.