Authorities in Kano State said on Wednesday that they intercepted more than N80 million worth of information technology equipment allegedly stolen from a public school in the city’s Fagge district.
The Kano State Road and Traffic Agency, known as KAROTA, said its patrol officers responded to a midnight distress call from Aisha Shehu Government Junior Secondary School, where intruders had broken into the school’s computer room and removed solar panels, computers and other accessories.
According to a statement from KAROTA’s spokesman, Abubakar Ibrahim, the suspects — believed to number about 10 entered the building through the roof, subdued the security guards on duty and tied them up before making off with the equipment.
The school is one of several in Kano benefiting from the World Bank–funded Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) program, which provides technology resources aimed at improving digital literacy among young women.
“Upon receiving the distress call shortly after 2 a.m., our men mobilized and stormed the scene,” KAROTA’s managing director, Faisal Mahmud, said in the statement. “When the thieves saw the patrol vehicles approaching, they abandoned the items and fled.”
What we know
Photographs released by the agency showed stacks of computers and solar panels recovered from the school’s grounds after the suspects fled. KAROTA officials said no arrests had been made but that a manhunt for the perpetrators was underway.
The agency praised the quick response of its patrol team, saying their intervention prevented the loss of valuable resources critical to the education of Kano’s youth. Mr. Mahmud urged residents to cooperate with local authorities by reporting suspicious activity, noting that public vigilance was essential to curbing rising incidents of burglary and vandalism in the city.
The principal of the school, Rufa’atu Mahmud, expressed relief that the equipment was recovered. She emphasized the importance of the materials to her students, many of whom rely on the school’s limited resources to gain basic computer skills. “This intervention saved the future of our girls who are supposed to benefit from this project,” she said.
Education officials in Kano have recently voiced concern about the vulnerability of public schools to theft and damage, particularly as new infrastructure and equipment are introduced through international development programs. The AGILE initiative, launched in 2020, has funded projects in several Nigerian states, targeting improvements in secondary education for adolescent girls.
For Kano, where thousands of students lack access to digital tools, the recovery of the stolen items represents more than just property saved.
