Dozens of students were kidnapped early this morning when Boko Haram fighters stormed a secondary school in Lassa, a town in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria. The attack took place during a biology examination, with the assailants entering the school grounds and seizing a large number of pupils.
Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso confirmed the incident, stating that the attackers arrived on motorcycles and used the crowd at the weekly market in Lassa to blend in and approach the school unnoticed. One teacher was killed during the assault, and many students were forcibly taken away.
Following the abduction, Nigerian security forces launched a pursuit. Deputy commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Mohammed Musa Goni, reported that a soldier was killed in a clash with the attackers near the locality of Daggu. He also announced that ten students had been rescued during the operation, noting that they are in satisfactory condition and receiving medical and psychological support. Search efforts continue to locate the remaining hostages and apprehend those responsible.
Boko Haram has been active in northeastern Nigeria since the early 2000s, leading an armed insurgency that has killed tens of thousands since 2009. The group has also expanded its attacks into Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, where violence in the Lake Chad basin has claimed at least 2,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
