This is an update to the earlier incident of gunmen kidnapping unspecified children who were writing their NECO exams. Security operatives have rescued seven students in Borno State. The students who were sitting for their NECO exams were kidnapped earlier from Lassa Day Secondary School on Monday. The school sits in the Askira Uba Local Government Area.
Presidential aide Dada Olusegun confirmed the rescue. He posted a terse statement on X. The news brought relief to anxious families across the community.
The rescue team included soldiers from the Nigerian Army and police officers who also joined the operation. Local Civilian Joint Task Force members rounded out the team. They combed nearby bushes and surrounding communities. Their efforts paid off with the recovery of seven captives.
NaijaEyes Blog had earlier reported that the brazen attack by suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters had stormed the school. They struck around 9 am while students wrote their National Examinations Council papers. The gunmen fired their weapons repeatedly. Students and teachers ran for their lives. Residents also fled in terror.
The attackers killed one teacher during the raid. Another teacher sustained injuries. The exact number of abducted students remains unclear.
Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, confirmed the rescue on Monday.
“For now, seven of them have been rescued. We cannot confirm their gender yet. Assessment is still ongoing,” Tar said.
The commissioner vowed that efforts would continue. His teams will not rest until they recover every remaining student. He admitted that the total number of missing students is still unknown.
“We have sent a delegation to the community to assess the situation and build confidence in the minds of the residents,” he said.
The Borno State Police Command had earlier confirmed the attack. The spokesperson said security operatives confronted the terrorists. They prevented what could have been a far worse abduction.
The command’s spokesperson, Nahum Daso, gave a clear timeline of the assault.
“Around 9am, ISWAP attacked Lassa Day Secondary School. They shot sporadically. An unspecified number of students have been abducted,” Daso said.
The latest rescue offers a glimmer of hope. Yet it also underscores a painful reality. Schools in Borno remain soft targets for terrorist groups. Militants continue to strike vulnerable communities. They snatch children during exams. They turn classrooms into crime scenes.
The attack has again raised concerns over school safety. Parents across the Northeast now fear for their children. Every school day brings fresh anxiety.
Backstory:
Borno State has battled Islamist insurgency for over fifteen years. Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009. The group wants a strict Islamic state across Northern Nigeria. Thousands of civilians have died. Millions more fled their homes.
The terrorists have consistently targeted schools. They view Western education as sinful. In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok. That abduction triggered global outrage. It sparked the Bring Back Our Girls movement.
The horror repeated in February 2018. Boko Haram seized 110 schoolgirls from Dapchi in Yobe State. Most returned weeks later. One girl, Leah Sharibu, remains in captivity. She refused to renounce her Christian faith.
ISWAP splintered from Boko Haram in 2016. The two factions now compete for territory. They sometimes cooperate during attacks. Both groups continue to strike soft targets. Schools remain especially vulnerable.
The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed victory. Yet attacks persist across the Northeast. Monday’s raid in Lassa follows this grim pattern. It exposes the fragility of security in Borno. The rescue of seven students offers relief. But families still wait for news of the others. The search teams continue their work.
Hope hangs by a thread.
