EXCLUSIVE: 36 students still missing after Borno school attack

A day after** PREMIUM TIMES** reported the Lassa Ward councillor’s claim that 35 students remained missing following Monday’s attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in the Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, further investigations by this newspaper have revealed that at least 36 students remain unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening. PREMIUM TIMES confirmed the figure through interviews with parents and a community-generated register.

The community-generated register lists the names, classes, sex, and contact details of the 36 missing students. Our reporter contacted several parents and relatives whose details appeared on the document, and the findings were subsequently corroborated by the Borno State Government, which confirmed the figure after a stakeholders’ meeting in Lassa.

What PREMIUM TIMES found

Parents and relatives interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES stated that their children had not returned home. “No, my child is yet to be released because out of the seven that were released yesterday, she wasn’t among them,” said Mr Simon, father of Partsi Simon, an SS2 student.

Mr Simon added that neither security agencies nor the abductors had contacted the family since the attack. He confirmed that his daughter was not among the candidates sitting the National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations: “She is in SS2, sir, not writing NECO.”

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Another parent confirmed that his son, Raju Wadzani, an SS1 student, had not returned home. “They haven’t been rescued. They are still in their hands,” he said. When asked whether the family had received any contact from security agencies or the abductors, he replied: “Nobody has called us.”

Anna, the mother of Laraba Anthony, a 15-year-old SS1 student, also confirmed her daughter remained missing. When asked if Laraba had returned home, she replied: “No.”

A relative of Samuel Timothy Abba, another student listed among the missing, noted that local search efforts on Tuesday ended without additional rescues: “They went out, but they returned this evening without finding anyone.”

Government corroborates figures

On Tuesday, the state government sent a delegation led by the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, to Lassa to assess the situation and meet affected families. According to a statement by Governor Babagana Zulum’s spokesperson, Dauda Iliya, attendees reported that 36 students were still missing.

The government confirmed that the missing students comprised 25 females and 11 males drawn from SS1, SS2, and SS3—figures that correspond to those in the community register. During the meeting, the Chairman of Askira/Uba Local Government formally presented the compiled list of affected persons to the delegation.

Following the meeting, the government ordered the temporary closure of schools in Lassa, Dille, and Chul as a precautionary measure. Students sitting ongoing external examinations will, however, continue their papers at Government Secondary School, Uba.

Who is still missing?

The register indicates that 18 of the missing students are in Senior Secondary School One (SS1), 17 are in Senior Secondary School Two (SS2), and one is in Senior Secondary School Three (SS3).

Official accounts

The attack occurred on Monday when suspected ISWAP fighters stormed Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, killing a teacher and abducting students and staff. According to a statement issued on Monday by the Acting Military Information Officer of Operation HADIN KAI, Captain Mohammed Goni, troops supported by strike aircraft and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms engaged the attackers near Daggu and rescued 10 victims. The army stated that those rescued were unharmed and receiving appropriate care.

The army confirmed that search-and-rescue efforts are continuing to recover the remaining abductees and bring the perpetrators to justice. It added that one soldier and one member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) were killed during the operation.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: List of kidnapped children emerges, as parents detail horror of Borno attack

Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the **Borno State Police Command, **Nahum Daso, said authorities were still reconciling attendance records, noting that some students fled into neighbouring communities during the attack, which has complicated efforts to establish the exact number of abducted and rescued students.

Questions over school security

The attack occurred barely six weeks after another mass abduction in the nearby Mussa community. When PREMIUM TIMES asked the councillor representing Lassa Ward whether additional security measures had been introduced around schools following the earlier attack in Mussa, she replied: “No.”

Although security agencies report that rescue efforts are ongoing, parents interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES stated they had received no official updates on the whereabouts of their children. For many families in Lassa, the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the missing students remains the most painful consequence of the attack.