Borno Community Says 36 Students Still Missing After Monday School Attack

A new twist has emerged in the abduction of students of Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State  by Boko Haram terrorists on Monday, as parents on Tuesday registered 36 students still missing despite the earlier rescue of 10 students and teachers.

The parents, after registering the 36 students still missing, made an emotional appeal to the government and security agencies to intensify rescue efforts.

LEADERSHIP had reported that the terrorists attacked Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, around 9 a.m. on Monday while the students were writing the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination, while others in SS1 and SS2 were in their classrooms, killing two teachers and abducting an unspecified number of students.

The spokesman for Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Captain Mohammed Goni, in a statement issued to reporters on Monday, said troops successfully rescued 10 of the National Examinations Council (NECO) candidates and teachers abducted during an ISWAP attack on Lassa community in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

Goni added that a soldier and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) paid the supreme price during the operation. 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.

He said the troops, with support from the air platforms overhead, made contact around Daggu. After the firefight, the operation had so far resulted in the successful rescue of 10 victims, who were unhurt and are currently receiving the necessary care and support. At the same time, efforts remain ongoing to rescue the remaining victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Parents were urged by the school authorities and the government to visit the school and register the names of students still missing after the previous rescue of 10 students and teachers.

As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 36 names of students had been registered by parents as those of their loved ones still in the hands of the terrorists.

Thus, at the gathering at Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, the parents wept and called for urgent action as troops continued operations in search of the remaining abductees.

“We are not sleeping. We are not eating. Our children are still with the terrorists,” said one parent, Mbula Bura, whose 19-year-old daughter in SSS2 is among the 37 students still missing.

Mbula Bura, who disclosed the opening of the register for the missing students, corroborated that there are 37 of them.

He added that his 19-year-old daughter was among the 37 names registered so far.

He said, “Parents who could not find their children were invited to come and register. I discovered that 37 names have been registered so far and are still missing.

“My daughter, 19-year-old Esther Mbula, is still missing. She is in SSS2,” he said.

Another parent, Emmanuel Teri, whose daughter was also abducted, said families have been thrown into panic since the abduction.

He said, “My 16-year-old daughter is in SSS2. Her name is Lucy Emmanuel. She was in class when the terrorists took them away. Since yesterday, we have not been able to sleep.

“When I heard about the attack, we were confused. Later, I was happy to hear about the rescue. Getting there, many other parents and I could not find our children,” he lamented.

He said when the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology, Engr Abba Wakilbe, visited the school with a government delegation, they were told that the military was returning with some of the abducted students. However, the soldiers returned without a single child.

Teri said when the parents began to protest the continued disappearance of their loved ones, they were dispersed by security agencies.

“The state Commissioner of Education is currently around. They came to see us and assess the situation,” he added.

A resident of Lassa, Bitrus Milnda, disclosed that two of his relatives are among the students still in captivity.

“Two victims, both of them related to me from my mother’s side, were abducted. Their names are Martha Wajau and Abori Ujulu. They are both in SSS1,” he said.

The Borno State Government has not responded to the incident since it occurred on Monday. However, the Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman Tar, confirmed the attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, as well as the abduction.

The Lassa abduction comes 48 days after about 42 pupils and students were abducted from Mussa Secondary School in the same Askira-Uba Local Government Area.

As of today, none of the students has been rescued, and nothing has been said about their whereabouts by either the government or the security agencies, as parents continue to languish in agony and pain.