At least 37 still held after Nigeria school attack, official says
At least 37 people remain in captivity after gunmen attacked Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, northeast Nigeria, on Monday while students were sitting exams, Borno education commissioner Lawan Abba Wakilbe said Tuesday. That figure includes 36 students and one staff member; eight others, including the vice principal, have been rescued.
The raid in Borno State has renewed alarm over school kidnappings in a region that has endured years of violence by jihadist armed groups. Parents and officials are pressing for swift rescue operations as families wait for word on missing teenagers.
Key Takeaways
- Gunmen stormed Government Day Secondary School in Lassa during exams on Monday, abducting dozens of students and staff.
- Borno Commissioner Lawan Abba Wakilbe said 25 female students, 11 male students, and one staff member remain captive; eight people have been freed.
- Authorities report at least one teacher killed, while the military said three people died in related fighting, including a soldier.
- Assailants linked to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are suspected; no group has claimed responsibility.
- School abductions remain a recurring tactic in conflict-hit northern Nigeria, months after more than 40 pupils were taken from Mussa village.
What happened at the Lassa school attack?
The attack unfolded Monday at Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, a town in Borno State's Askira-Uba area. Students were taking secondary school leaving examinations when gunmen raided the campus, according to Nigerian authorities cited by ABC News.
Governor Babagana Zulum's spokesman, Dauda Iliya, said 25 girls and 11 boys were abducted, along with three teachers. Borno's education commissioner described the incident as "unfortunate" and said officials are working with security agencies and community leaders to secure the safe return of missing students and staff.
Al Jazeera reported that assailants from ISWAP stormed the school as students sat exams. The outlet noted the military initially said authorities had rescued 10 people and that only one remained missing—a tally that diverged from later official and parent-led counts.
Who is still missing after the Nigeria abduction?
Wakilbe told reporters in Lassa on Tuesday that those still held include 25 female students, 11 male students, and one staff member, Reuters reported. Eight people, including the school's vice principal, have been freed.
A list of students in captivity, showing genders and parents' mobile numbers, was shared with journalists by local government councillor Ijagla Ijabila, according to Al Jazeera. The missing students were described as ages 15 to 18.
ABC News said it was not immediately clear whether the three teachers reported abducted had been rescued. The conflicting early rescue figures have added to the anguish of families still searching for their children.
Why does this attack matter for northeast Nigeria?
Borno has faced sustained insurgent violence for years. Boko Haram and its splinter faction ISWAP remain prominent militant groups in northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad basin, ABC News noted. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's raid.
School kidnappings have become a grim pattern across Nigeria's conflict-hit north. The 2014 Chibok abduction remains the country's most infamous case, but attacks on students continue. In May, gunmen kidnapped more than 40 pupils from Borno State's Mussa village who remain in captivity, Al Jazeera reported.
For readers tracking global abduction cases and long-running security crises, this episode fits a wider pattern documented in our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries coverage: armed groups exploiting vulnerable school settings for leverage, ransom, or terror.