Borno School Attack: Security Operatives Rescue Seven Victims
Security operatives, including the Army, Police and local Civilian Joint Task Force, have rescued seven of the unspecified number of students sitting for the National Examinations Council examinations at Lassa Day Secondary School who were abducted in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, on Monday.
Confirming the rescue operation, Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, said efforts were ongoing to rescue the remaining abductees.
“For now, seven of them have been rescued. We cannot confirm their gender yet. Assessment is still ongoing,” he said.
On the total number of missing students, the commissioner said it was yet to be ascertained.
“We have sent a delegation to the community to assess the situation and build confidence in the minds of the residents,” Tar said
OSUN DEFENDER earlier reported that the terrorists attacked the school on Monday, using motorcycles, shooting sporadically before abducting students and women selling within the school premises.
The spokesperson for Borno State Police Command, Nahum Daso, whi confirned the abduction, said the attackers infiltrated Lassa on motorcycles under the guise of the community’s market day before storming the school.
“It’s Lassa market day, so they took advantage, infiltrated the market on motorcycles and went to Government Day Secondary School, Lassa,” Daso said.
“They shot and killed one teacher and took away all the students who were in their classrooms.”
He said the attackers, suspected to be ISWAP members, were confronted by security forces, a development he said reduced the scale of the abduction.
According to local sources, the gunmen invaded the school around 9 a.m., shooting sporadically before entering the examination hall where final-year students were writing their National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations. They reportedly whisked away several students and teachers to an unknown destination.
The police spokesman said security personnel were combing the surrounding bush to rescue the abducted victims.
The incident comes 47 days after 42 pupils of Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School were abducted in the same Askira-Uba Local Government Area.
Parents of the pupils lamented on Sunday that they had yet to be contacted by the abductors, raising fears over the fate of their children.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
