MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — There was tension in the Lassa community of Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Tuesday as angry youths forced a state government delegation to leave after rejecting its sympathy visit over the abduction of students by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
The delegation, led by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abba Wakilbe, had visited the community to sympathise with families of students abducted during Monday’s attack on Government Day Secondary School. However, the atmosphere turned rowdy when the commissioner attempted to address residents at the school premises, with youths and relatives of the abducted students chanting, “We don’t want talk. Go and bring back our children.”
Efforts by the commissioner to calm the crowd were unsuccessful as the gathering became increasingly agitated, forcing him and members of the delegation to leave the community. Some of the youths were chanting “Don’t play politics with our children.”
The PUNCH reported on Monday that suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked the school at about 9 am while candidates were writing the National Examinations Council examination, killing two teachers and abducting an unspecified number of students. The attackers, reportedly dressed in fake military fatigues and forest guard uniforms, opened fire and kidnapped students and food vendors on the school premises before fleeing.
Although the exact number of those abducted has yet to be officially confirmed, it was reported that at least 37 students were still unaccounted for following the attack. The Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, had confirmed the attack to The PUNCH, saying security agencies were working to rescue the abducted students.
The military reported that a soldier and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force were killed during a fierce firefight with the fleeing terrorists after security forces pursued them. The operation so far has resulted in the successful rescue of 10 victims, who were unharmed and are currently receiving necessary care and support.
Monday’s attack is the latest in a series of assaults on schools in Askira/Uba Local Government Area. On May 15, terrorists abducted 42 pupils from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the same council area. More than six weeks later, the children, including toddlers as young as two years old, remain in captivity, with no official information on their whereabouts.
The residents of Borno State have expressed previous concerns over the federal government’s prolonged silence since the abduction of schoolchildren in the state. The aggrieved residents noted that the government had prioritized a similar incident in Oyo State, where pupils and teachers were kidnapped, while downplaying the abduction in Borno.
Speaking with journalists, the Chairman of the Civil Society Organisations in the state, Abubakar Suleiman, said the federal government is not fair to the victims of both incidents. He noted that the federal government visited Oyo State with a high-powered delegation, including the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, and Chief of Staff to the President, while in the case of Borno, there has not been any federal government intervention.
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, urged security forces to “redouble their efforts and ensure the safe return of the 42 students of Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, those kidnapped in Ngoshe, those abducted along Buratai-Biu Road, and those abducted today.”
