The Borno State Police Command has launched a search operation following the abduction of an unspecified number of students sitting for the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination after suspected terrorists attacked Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area.
The attack occurred at about 9 a.m. on Monday when the gunmen reportedly stormed the school and disrupted the ongoing examination.
According to residents and local officials, the assault also claimed lives and left several others injured.
Spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, Nahum Daso, confirmed the incident, saying security personnel engaged the attackers, preventing what could have been a more devastating assault.
According to him, the terrorists, believed to be members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), invaded the school and opened fire before abducting an unspecified number of students.
He said the Commissioner of Police had immediately deployed the Area Commander in Askira/Uba to coordinate security operations in the area.
“Security operatives confronted the attackers, and personnel are currently combing the surrounding bushes in search of the abducted victims,” Daso said.
The Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the Adamawa State Governor, Solomon Kwamagar, who hails from Lassa, also confirmed the incident.
Kwamagar said the assailants rode into the community on motorcycles through the weekly market before heading to the secondary school.
He disclosed that one teacher was killed during the attack, while several students were taken away from their classrooms.
“I am still making contacts to establish the exact number of students and teachers who were abducted,” he said.
Also speaking, President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, said the attackers disguised themselves in military and forest guard uniforms to gain access to the area.
He added that one teacher was killed while another sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.
According to him, the terrorists also abducted women selling food within the school premises, although the total number of victims remains unclear.
Some residents, however, claimed the casualty figure was higher, alleging that two teachers and one female student were killed during the assault.
A resident, who requested anonymity, said the female student died after being shot in the mouth.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Chairman of Askira/Uba Local Government Area, Mada Saidu, were unsuccessful as he declined to speak, citing the ongoing security situation.
Similarly, the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, could not be reached for comments as calls and messages to his phone were unanswered.
The latest attack comes barely weeks after suspected Boko Haram insurgents reportedly abducted 42 pupils and students during an assault on Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, also in Askira/Uba Local Government Area.
Following that incident, the senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, said the victims included students of Government Day Secondary School, primary school pupils and children taken from their homes.
