Key points

• Attackers disguised as soldiers and Forest Guards seized NECO candidates in Lassa, Borno.
• A source says troops left on patrol minutes before the raid began.
• Police confirmed the attack and launched a joint pursuit to rescue the victims.

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents disguised as soldiers and Forest Guards abducted candidates sitting NECO practical exams in Lassa, Borno State, on Monday. According to a security source, the attackers also seized a teacher and shot two others.

The gunmen struck the Government Day Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Notably, the raid hit on Lassa’s busy market day, when crowds filled the town.

Officials initially could not say how many students vanished. According to the source, poor phone networks and widespread panic blocked an immediate headcount.

Wearing military camouflage and Forest Guard uniforms, the attackers drove straight to the school. Subsequently, they cordoned off the premises and took an unspecified number of students.

A patrol that raises questions

The school sits less than 500 meters from a military base. However, the source said the camp commander assembled his soldiers and left for a patrol in Dille minutes before the attack.

“The commander summoned the soldiers, and they left for Dille,” the source said. Indeed, he claimed the troops did not return while the gunmen seized the students.

According to the source, Dille lies about seven kilometers away, roughly a five-minute drive. Therefore, the troops could have returned quickly, yet they stayed away during the raid.

Residents now suspect foul play, a community leader said. Still, he stressed that these remain suspicions rather than established facts, and he plans to ask who ordered the patrol.

Moreover, the source compared the raid to a similar attack a month earlier in nearby Musa. Consequently, residents warn that insecurity in southern Borno keeps worsening despite military operations.

Victims and a desperate appeal

The attackers killed one teacher, an examination officer, and shot another in the neck. Meanwhile, they abducted the school’s vice principal alongside the students, most of them female.

Among the abducted were two 18-year-old girls, Asta Mallum Bura and Fibi Ibrahim. In addition, the source said the wounded teacher reached a hospital in serious condition.

Furthermore, the source said the gunmen rode motorcycles resembling those the state gave to vigilantes. He added that they used Hilux vehicles to drive the students away.

Police confirmed the assault. According to spokesperson Nuhu Kenneth Daso, a joint police and military team launched a pursuit to rescue the victims.

Ultimately, the source begged for urgent help and asked the media to amplify the community’s plight. As a result, he warned that southern Borno grows more vulnerable by the week.