June 29 (THEWILL) — Panic swept through the Lassa community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday after suspected terrorists attacked Lassa Day Secondary School, killing a teacher and abducting an unspecified number of students.
The insurgents reportedly invaded the border community with neighbouring Adamawa State during Lassa’s weekly market day, arriving on motorcycles and opening fire as frightened residents fled for safety.
THEWILL gathered that the attackers later stormed the school, where students were sitting the ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, before whisking away an unspecified number of candidates and their teachers.o
The Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Mr Solomon Kwamagar, an indigene of Lassa, said the assailants passed through the community’s busy market before heading to the school.
“Today is Lassa market day. I was informed that they came through 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”, Kwamagar said, adding that efforts were ongoing to determine the exact number of victims.
The President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, also confirmed the attack, alleging that the terrorists disguised themselves in military and forest guard uniforms to gain access to the community. According to him, the insurgents passed through a military checkpoint before storming the school and firing indiscriminately.
Kaigama said one teacher, said to be from neighbouring Chibok Local Government Area, was killed during the attack, while another sustained gunshot injuries. He added that, besides the students, some women trading within the school premises were also abducted.
“The terrorists came around past nine. They wore military and forest guard attire. They shot sporadically. They killed one teacher from Chibok and injured another. They also kidnapped some students and women selling on the school premises. The numbers are not yet out,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said the attackers were confronted by security operatives, preventing what could have been a larger-scale abduction.
“At about 9 a.m., ISWAP attacked Lassa Day Secondary School. They shot sporadically. An unspecified number of students have been abducted. Security forces confronted them. The Commissioner of Police has deployed the Area Commander in Askira/Uba, and security personnel are currently combing the bush”, Daso said.
Monday’s attack is the latest in a series of assaults on schools in Askira/Uba Local Government Area. On May 15, terrorists abducted 42 pupils from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the same council area. More than six weeks later, the children, including toddlers as young as two years old, remain in captivity, with no official information on their whereabouts.
Reacting to the latest attack, the member representing Askira/Uba Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Midala Usman Balami, condemned the recurring assaults on Mussa and Lassa communities, describing the latest incident as tragic and unacceptable.
Balami expressed concern that security challenges continued to be overshadowed by political issues, urging authorities constitutionally responsible for deploying and coordinating the nation’s security architecture to take decisive action to protect lives and property.
He extended his condolences to the families of those killed, prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and expressed hope for the safe rescue of the abducted students and teachers, as well as the restoration of lasting peace across the affected communities.
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