The Borno State Police Command has said suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) picked all students who were in their classrooms during Monday’s attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira-Uba Local Government Area.
Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Kenneth Daso, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, saying 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.