Dozens of students missing after Nigerian school attack

Gunmen have raided a secondary school in Borno State, killing one teacher and abducting dozens, the authorities said

Gunmen have abducted at least 36 students and one staff member from a secondary school in northeastern Nigeria, marking the latest attack on educational institutions in the country.

The attackers stormed the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, in Borno State’s Askira-Uba Local Government Area, on Monday morning. The Nigerian authorities initially said an unspecified number of students were kidnapped but that ten students and teachers were rescued during a military operation.

On Tuesday, Borno State Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Lawan Wakiibe said at least 36 students – 25 girls and 11 boys – remain missing, along with one member of staff. According to the commissioner, one teacher was killed, another was critically injured, and the third is still missing.

“Assurances have been given to us by the security services that rescue would be carried out soon,” Wakiibe said.

Local newspaper Vanguard, citing interviews with parents, reported that the Borno State government opened a register for families to report missing relatives. According to the report, 37 students were listed as missing. 

The Nigerian military said troops engaged suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in a firefight during the rescue operation, killing an unspecified number of attackers and seizing seven motorcycles. One soldier and a member of a civilian task force were also killed.

Nigeria’s northern and Middle Belt regions have long been plagued by kidnappings, banditry, and communal violence, with armed gangs frequently targeting travelers, villages, and schools. Abduction incidents drew global attention in 2014 when Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State.

The recent attack occurred only a few weeks after armed assailants abducted more than 40 students from the Primary and Junior Government Day Secondary School in the Mussa-Biri community on May 15. The school is also located in Askira-Uba Local Government Area.