Police in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State say an unknown number of students are missing following an attack on a secondary school on Friday that is suspected to have been carried out by jihadi militants.
Borno police spokesperson Nahum Daso said several students remain unaccounted for after the incident, though authorities are still trying to determine whether any were actually abducted. He indicated that, at this stage, officials can only confirm that many pupils “fled for safety during the pandemonium.”
The assault took place in the early hours in Askira-Uba, a town near the Sambisa Forest, an area widely regarded as a stronghold for armed groups. Police attributed the attack to members of Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
School abductions have become a recurring security crisis in Nigeria, where multiple armed groups operate across different regions. Analysts say these groups, including Boko Haram, frequently target educational institutions, often seeking ransom and attention from authorities.
Residents in the area said dozens of students may have been taken during the raid. One resident, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press out of fear of reprisals, said, “Two of my nieces, both under the age of 10, were among the pupils taken away to an unknown destination,”
Authorities say a full headcount is still underway as they work to establish whether an abduction occurred and how many students are missing.
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Nigeria has faced repeated mass kidnappings from schools in recent years. Last year alone, two major incidents in the country’s conflict-hit north saw more than 300 children seized.