Parents of students at Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, say at least 37 children remain missing following Monday’s terrorist attack on the school.
The assailants stormed the school at about 9 a.m. while students were writing the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination. Two teachers were killed during the attack, while an undisclosed number of students were abducted.
The military had earlier confirmed that security forces rescued 10 victims during a follow-up operation.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Acting Military Information Officer for the North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Capt. Muhammed Goni, said a soldier and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force lost their lives during the rescue mission.
According to him, troops, supported by air surveillance, intercepted the abductors around the Daggu area of Askira/Uba Local Government Area and successfully rescued 10 victims without injuries.
Despite the operation, anxious parents said dozens of students had yet to be accounted for.
They disclosed that the Borno State Government had opened a register for families to report missing relatives, with 37 students listed as unaccounted for.
One of the affected parents, Mbula Bura, said his 19-year-old daughter, Esther, an SS2 student, was among those still missing.
“Parents whose children could not be found were asked to register their names. So far, 37 students have been recorded as missing, and my daughter is one of them,” he said.
Another parent, Emmanuel Dari, said his 16-year-old daughter, Lucy, who is also in SS2, was taken from her classroom during the attack.
He said his family had been living in fear since the incident.
“When I first heard that some students had been rescued, I was hopeful. But when I got there, my daughter was not among them. Many other parents are still searching for their children,” he said.
Dari added that the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Lawan Wakilbe, had visited Lassa with a government delegation to assess the situation and meet with affected families.
A resident of the community, Bitrus Milnda, also said two of his relatives remained among those abducted.
He identified them as Martha Wajau and Abori Ujulu, both SS1 students, and appealed for intensified efforts to secure the safe return of all those still in captivity.
Efforts to obtain an official update from the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, were unsuccessful, as calls to his telephone were not answered at the time of filing this report.
