Borno school attack: Teacher killed, students abducted, 10 rescued

From Hamisu Kabir Matazu, Maiduguri; Dalhatu Liman, Abuja & Salim Umar Ibrahim, Kano

Suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) members raided the Government Day Secondary School, Lassa town, in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State and abducted many students.

Lassa village is located about 20 kilometers from the Mussa community where 42 pupils of Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School were abducted on May 15.

Parents of the pupils lamented on Sunday that they had yet to be contacted by the abductors of their children, expressing fear the victims might not be alive.

In the latest abduction, Daily Trust gathered the terrorists struck around 8.30am on Monday when candidates sitting the ongoing NECO examination were preparing for the day’s paper.

Sources revealed that the insurgents whisked away many students and two teachers. They reportedly shot dead a teacher, who refused to follow them, while one other sustained injuries and was hospitalised.

However, eight students and two teachers were later rescued by a joint team of hunters and security agents who went after the assailants.

A senior staff member of the school told our correspondent that the management has yet to ascertain the actual number of students abducted.

“As at this afternoon (Monday), when the school management tried to collate the figures, the number of missing students was between 30 and 31,” he said, adding that the terrorists stormed the classes when morning lessons were about to start.

“The NECO (Biology) examination was scheduled for 10:00am, while the terrorists struck around 8:30am. So, there may be some of the NECO students who came to the school early but the majority of the children abducted are regular students,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Nahum Kenneth Daso, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said the students were picked in their classrooms.

He said the attackers infiltrated Lassa on motorcycles during the community’s market day before storming the school.

“It was Lassa market day, so they took advantage, infiltrated the market on motorcycles and went to Government Day Secondary School, Lassa. They shot and killed one teacher and took away all the students who were in their classrooms,” Daso said.

He said the attackers, suspected to be ISWAP members, were confronted by security forces, a development he said reduced the scale of the abduction.

The police spokesman said security personnel were combing the surrounding bush to rescue the abducted victims.

8 students, 2 teachers rescued; soldier, vigilante killed

Vigilante sources told our correspondent that a group of hunters swiftly responded to a distress call by the community and trailed the terrorists.

He said the hunters traced the attackers to the surrounding forests and engaged them in a gun duel. It was learnt that they rescued eight students and two teachers and handed them over to the military.

However, troops of Operation HADIN KAI, claimed to have rescued nine students and a teacher with the support of hunters. Some motorcycles belonging to the insurgents were also recovered.

Sources further revealed that one vigilante member and one soldier paid the supreme price during the encounter, while efforts were ongoing to rescue the remaining abducted students.

Military sources said troops are manning all possible escape routes used by the terrorists, with additional reinforcements deployed to block crossing points.

The attack comes amid sustained military offensives against Boko Haram and ISWAP enclaves across the North-East, with troops intensifying clearance operations to root out the insurgents and protect vulnerable communities

Meanwhile, residents of Lassa town accused the military of not responding promptly to a distress call on the school attack, saying the incident occurred close to a military post.

They also likened the attack to the one on Mussa town where 42 pupils, including toddlers were abducted 48 days ago without trace.

“It’s just like the incident in Mussa village where the insurgents struck a few minutes after the troops left their duty post. The troops here in Lassa camp had also left their post, which is a short distance from the school, for a patrol at a neighbouring village when the attackers struck.”

“It was our hunters who summoned courage and went after the terrorists and their effort yielded results. They rescued some of the students and a male teacher, but the female teacher was not so lucky; they disappeared with her,” a resident, who craved anonymity, said.

‘How we were rescued’

The school’s Vice Principal, Paul Namaske, has narrated how military air support and ground troops rescued him and several others.

Speaking in a one-minute, 20-second video, Namaske said the attackers abducted two teachers and more than 20 students.

“Today, being June 29, the terrorists took us into the bush. When a military aircraft started hovering over us, the insurgents started dispersing. While this was happening, we heard gunshots from the soldiers, so they (the terrorists) began to run while we started escaping. In the process, the soldiers rescued us.

“Two teachers (including me) and about 20-something students were abducted. I cannot give the precise number, but at one point during the movement, when they gathered us in one place, I was able to make a rough estimate. There were about 20 students and two teachers.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army confirmed that troops of Operation Hadin Kai rescued 10 abducted victims, including teachers and students, during a coordinated search-and-rescue operation.

The Acting Military Information Officer of the North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Capt. Muhammed Goni, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday.

According to him, the rescue mission involved both ground forces and air assets, which provided intelligence, surveillance and operational guidance after troops tracked the abductors to the Daggu area of Askira/Uba Local Government Area.

He also disclosed that one soldier and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force lost their lives during the operation.

Goni said, “Troops of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) have successfully rescued 10 National Examinations Council (NECO) candidates and teachers abducted during an ISWAP attack on Lassa Community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

“Immediately upon receipt of the report of the incident, the Theatre Command scrambled both strike and intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft from the Air Component of OPHK to support troops mobilised to the area for a coordinated search-and-rescue operation.

“The troops, with support from the air platforms overhead providing guidance, made contact around Daggu and, after the firefight, the operation has so far resulted in the successful rescue of 10 victims, who were unhurt and are currently receiving the necessary care and support, while efforts remain ongoing to rescue the remaining victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

According to Goni, troops outmanoeuvred the fleeing terrorists during the exchange, inflicted casualties on them and recovered seven motorcycles.

“Regrettably, during the intense firefight, one gallant soldier of OPHK and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force paid the supreme sacrifice in the exchange of fire with the terrorists,” he added.

‘Why abductions persist’

A security analyst at the University of Namibia, Associate Professor Babayo Sule, blamed the persistent attacks and abductions of schoolchildren by terrorists on the government’s failure to learn from previous incidents and what he described as poor security planning.

Speaking to our correspondent on Monday, Sule said repeated attacks on schools, particularly in northern Nigeria, showed that authorities had failed to apply lessons from previous tragedies such as the Chibok and Dapchi abductions.

“But unfortunately, it seems we are not learning anything from history; we keep on repeating the same thing,” he said.

According to Sule, school abductions have become “a lucrative business for the terrorists” since 2021, attributing the trend to government negligence and the financial gains terrorists derive from ransom payments.

“To me, number one (cause) is negligence of the government. All measures should be taken, especially during a critical period like WAEC and NECO examinations, particularly in the red zones. That, to me, has not been done,” he said.

He alleged that huge ransom payments made over the years had emboldened armed groups.

“The government has been consistently denying it, but the truth of the matter is that money in huge sums, some say running into billions, were paid as ransoms for some of them to be released,” he said.

Sule recalled that between 2020 and 2021, about 20 schools were attacked, with approximately 1,436 students abducted and at least 16 killed. He added that the number of attacks might have risen to about 40 since 2025.

“The issue is that mostly the terrorists negotiate with them when they collect money in the hundreds of millions,” he said, accusing political leaders of prioritising politics over security.

“The policymakers are not entirely interested in the issue of security. All their attention is now focused towards the 2027 election. Who gets what, when, and how are their major interest and not the security,” he added.

To stem the attacks, Sule urged the government to strengthen security around vulnerable schools, evacuate pupils where necessary and stop paying ransom.

“The government should entirely desist from paying ransom or any money to the bandits. You are empowering them by giving them hundreds of millions. By abstaining from paying ransom, you are weakening them financially and logistically. That may even see the end of them in the near future,” he said.

A dangerous pattern

A security expert, Dr Yahuza Getso, warned that the rising cases of school abductions across Nigeria are becoming a dangerous pattern, blaming what he described as failures in governance, poor coordination among security agencies and official negligence.

Getso said attacks on schools were no longer isolated incidents but part of an emerging trend that could worsen if urgent measures were not taken.

“School abductions have become a pattern. If decisive action is not taken, they will continue to rise,” he warned.

The security analyst argued that weaknesses in the country’s security architecture, coupled with what he described as the failure of authorities to hold security managers accountable, had emboldened criminal groups.

According to him, some governors do not maintain effective working relationships with security agencies in their states, a situation he said undermines intelligence sharing and coordinated responses to insecurity.

“I have realised that some governors are not in good working relationships with security managers in their states. Security cannot be addressed effectively without collaboration,” he said.

Getso also criticised what he described as the politicisation of security issues, alleging that some public officials had failed to accord education and protection of schools the attention they deserve.

He further expressed opposition to the proposed establishment of state police, arguing that such a system could be abused for political purposes rather than strengthening public safety.

“I have consistently opposed state police because I believe it could be misused and take the country backwards instead of addressing insecurity,” he said.

The security expert also linked persistent school kidnappings to corruption, alleging that criminal networks continue to thrive because some individuals benefit from the prevailing insecurity.

According to him, while security forces have recorded successes against insurgent groups, more efforts are needed to eliminate sabotage within the security system and ensure sustained protection of vulnerable communities.

He called on the federal government to strengthen intelligence gathering, improve coordination among security agencies and ensure that officials responsible for lapses in security are held accountable.

Getso warned that unless urgent reforms were implemented, attacks on schools and other public institutions could continue to pose a serious threat to education and national security.

The Managing Director of Beacon Security Consulting, Kabiru Adamu said school abductions persist in Nigeria for three reasons.

He said, “The first reason is that there are threat elements, actors, who have the capability, and this includes the ideological non-state armed groups, such as the Jamaat al-Ahl al-Sunnah, the Islamic State in West Africa province, that all have the capability. And then you have this very mobile criminal enterprise called bandits.

“They also have the capability, and they can carry out these attacks. The second reason, in addition to these capable threat elements, is the vulnerability surrounding the school environment. Despite years of putting forward several policies, including the Safe School Initiative, Safe School Declaration, the National Policy on Safe, Secure and Violence-Free Schools, we still have schools that don’t have fences, schools that are extremely vulnerable to so many security and safety challenges.

“And so these capable groups take advantage of this and can carry out attacks. The third point, which is also very important, is the benefit that comes from the abductions. Ransom, in particular, whenever these abductions take place, ransom is paid, and so it encourages further abduction.

“And then the last point, also very important, is the holding places, especially on governed spaces, or spaces that are at the moment not exactly under the control of the government. Forested paths, mountainous paths, they’re able to keep these abducted persons in those locations. So, these are some of the reasons.

“With regards to your question, what should be done? The first thing is for the National Assembly and the Presidency, especially, to conduct independent investigations into why the funds that were put together for the Safe School Initiatives did not result in improved security around our schools. And then make sure, through a collaborative effort between the federal, state and local government authorities, that schools across these three levels all have the requisite security protection. The national policy on safe, secure and voluntary schools and its implementation mechanisms have provisions for what secure physical security should be in schools. So we don’t need to invent anything, we just need to implement the provisions of that policy.”

A security expert, Major General Umar I Mohammed (Retd), described the abduction as regrettable, unfortunate and sad.

He said the terrorists were taking advantage of soft targets, where there are no security forces and security infrastructure to carry out such attacks.

“They take advantage of that, go to those places, abduct people and demand ransom or other things that only they themselves know,” he said.

To address the problem, the General advised that the federal government should enhance the existing rapid response squads formation across the country.

“Our rapid response needs to be enhanced; we should be able to have a rapid response in such a way that we should have helicopters, soldiers that are armed, and after every security breach, they should be able to respond quickly.

“I think that it’s one of the reasons the insurgents have realized, sometimes it takes days, hours or even weeks before they are persuaded. So, based on that, they take advantage and continue to perpetrate these crimes.

“Additionally they are also taking advantage of the very weak security infrastructure. What I mean is that, most of these schools, especially the ones that are in the hinterlands, including those that are in the towns, don’t have any way to deter, prevent or make kidnapping costly.

“For me, there is a need for some schools to have some CCTV, if it’s affordable. Besides that, I believe that the government should please make sure that all the schools have high-sounding alarms because all criminals don’t want noises so that once they attempt to kidnap students, those alarms should be sounded.

“I’m aware that we have an epileptic power supply, so the source of power should actually be effective. We should make sure that within 24 hours, such a facility could be energized and could be activated or triggered. That is another way,” he said.

On the long government silence over the abduction of the 42 pupils of Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, he said, “Security is the primary responsibility of any government; therefore, parents of the children should know every detail of the efforts made to rescue their children.

He said, “The security agencies should make an effort to rescue the victims and they should also try to establish contact with the insurgents or the criminals that are kidnapping the innocent children and they should keep in touch with the parents. There should be a centre in which all information that is gathered should be passed to them, and they should pass information to assuage their fears.”

The General added, “I’m aware we have the Army Public Address Department and a Civil-Military section that handles relationships with civilians. I think these centres should at least establish an information centre that keeps people in distress informed about what is happening.  I recommend that they get in touch with a division, and I can assure you the security agencies will keep them posted on what is happening.

“I also urge the government to continue to liaise to be able to reach out to the insurgents and to be able to allay the fears of the parents as to the conditions of their children. It is their right to know, so I encourage the security agencies and the government to make sure that they get their reliable information on the whereabouts and the condition of those who are abducted and make sure that they keep the families informed to what is happening.”

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