Panic swept through Lassa community in Borno State on Monday after suspected Boko Haram insurgents reportedly abducted students sitting the ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, several teachers and killed at least one educator during a deadly raid.
The attackers stormed Lassa in Askira/Uba Local Government Area on a busy market day, leaving residents scrambling for safety as gunmen, reportedly dressed in military camouflage and riding motorcycles, moved through the town firing sporadically.
According to eyewitness accounts, the insurgents struck while students were writing their NECO examinations, taking an unspecified number of candidates and teachers to an unknown destination.
Residents said at least one teacher was killed during the attack, while efforts were still underway to determine the number of people missing as families searched for their loved ones.
“The soldiers were not around when the terrorists invaded. They came in large numbers, firing sporadically and causing panic everywhere. They took away students writing NECO and their teachers,” one eyewitness said.
The incident has also raised fresh concerns about security in the area. Residents alleged that troops stationed in Lassa had reportedly left on a patrol to nearby Uba, about 16 kilometres away, before the attackers arrived.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, said authorities were gathering information on the incident.
“I am in a meeting. We are gathering evidence. I will call you back,” the police spokesman said.
The latest attack highlights the persistent insecurity in parts of southern Borno, where communities continue to face attacks from insurgent groups despite ongoing military operations aimed at restoring peace.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had not released an official figure for those abducted, while efforts to rescue the victims were yet to be announced.
