Africa-Press – Nigeria. Officials in Nigeria have announced the kidnapping of at least 42 students following a terrorist attack carried out by armed individuals suspected to be affiliated with militant groups at a school in Borno State (northeast), which has been experiencing an armed insurgency for years.
Local residents reported that armed men stormed the Musa primary and secondary school in the Askira-Uba area during school hours, abducting several students amidst panic among pupils and teachers.
Obaidullah Hassan, a resident near the school, explained that the attackers arrived in the town around 9 a.m. before storming the school and executing the kidnapping.
A teacher confirmed in statements to a local source that the assailants were riding motorcycles, adding that some students managed to escape into nearby forests while others were kidnapped during the attack.
Mohammed Ali Ndumi, a senator representing the southern Borno district, confirmed that the number of abducted individuals reached 42 students and children, marking one of the most severe incidents targeting schools in the region in recent years.
Ndumi stated in a press release distributed in Maiduguri that the attack was “brutal and painful,” noting that the incident has left many parents and guardians in despair and fear for their children’s fate.
He clarified that information received from school administrations indicated the abduction of four students from the government secondary school, including two boys and two girls, in addition to 28 pupils from the primary section, while 10 other children were kidnapped from their homes near the school, bringing the total number of abducted individuals to 42.
He added that the attack seemed particularly cruel as the students were attending their early morning classes at the time of the school invasion, describing the victims as “poor and diligent students seeking education.”
Additionally, the police in Nigeria announced the detention of three suspects in the school attack. A police spokesperson stated today that authorities are still assessing the number of students who may have been abducted during the incident.
The spokesperson explained that the three suspects were identified by local community members before security forces were able to apprehend them.
The police did not clarify whether they are continuing to pursue other suspects linked to the attack.
The incident has raised widespread concerns about the resurgence of mass kidnappings of students, a tactic that gained notoriety during the peak of Boko Haram’s insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the method of execution and the nature of the operation have recalled the 2014 kidnapping of over 270 girls from Chibok, one of the most globally condemned attacks.
Since that incident, Borno State has experienced relative calm regarding school targeting until the Musa operation reignited security fears.
The town of Musa is located near the edges of the Sambisa Forest, a historical stronghold for armed groups active in Nigeria for over a decade.
Senator Ndumi urged security agencies, particularly the Nigerian army, to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted individuals and ensure their safe return, while also expressing condolences to the families of victims of recent attacks in southern Borno communities.
Local representative Medala Othman Balami described the attack as “devastating,” calling on authorities to act swiftly to pursue the kidnappers and prevent such attacks from recurring.
As of now, neither the Nigerian police nor the army has issued any official comments regarding the operation, while search operations continue in the surrounding areas.
This attack comes at a time when Nigeria is still facing escalating security challenges related to mass kidnappings carried out by armed and extremist groups in various regions of the country.
In a separate incident, local reports indicated that armed men kidnapped several students from a primary and secondary school in Oyo State in the southwest of the country on Friday, prompting local authorities to close schools in the area and initiate intensive security operations to track down the kidnappers.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has been engaged in an ongoing war for nearly 17 years against extremist groups that use kidnapping as one of their primary military tactics, amid concerns over persistent security gaps in rural areas despite ongoing military operations.
