Lassa School Abduction: Parents and Freed Victim Recount Ordeal

Fear and grief continue to grip the Lassa community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State following Monday’s attack on Government Day Secondary School by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists.

Although troops, supported by local hunters, rescued nine students and a teacher after a gun battle in which a soldier and a hunter were killed, several students and teachers remain in captivity. The community’s anguish deepened on Tuesday when security personnel returned from the operation without the remaining victims.

“They only brought back our children’s school bags and uniforms. When they dropped them, mothers broke down in tears and started calling the names of their children,” said Adamu Lassa, father of the school’s head girl, Wamdai.

He said he was able to reach his daughter’s phone shortly after the abduction.

“She cried and said, ‘Forgive me, Baba, they have abducted us.’ A man then collected the phone and assured me nothing would happen to them,” he recalled.

Adamu added that his wife has been inconsolable since the attack and was later admitted to the hospital.

Another parent said the abducted student was his first son and the family’s breadwinner.

“My wife has not stopped crying. Seeing the children’s school bags made the pain even worse. If they had died, we would have buried them, but living without knowing their fate is more painful,” he said.

Despite the attack, residents insisted they would not withdraw their children from school.

“Lassa is known for education. We have produced professors, doctors and other professionals. Terrorists will not stop us from educating our children,” another parent said.

The parents called on both the federal and Borno State governments to intensify efforts to rescue those still in captivity.

One of the rescued girls, whose identity was withheld, said the attackers claimed they were taking the students to care for younger children abducted earlier from Mussa Primary School.

She said the captives were divided into groups and transported on motorcycles into the bush.

“Our group was the last to leave. The motorcycle developed a fault just as security forces opened fire. The terrorists abandoned us and fled, giving us the chance to escape,” she said.

She added that the abductors appeared unfamiliar with the area and relied on a guide to navigate through the bush.

Meanwhile, youths in Lassa staged a protest during a visit by the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Lawan Wakilbe, preventing him from addressing parents.

The protesters accused the government of making empty promises, noting that pupils abducted from Mussa village about 49 days earlier have yet to be rescued.

List of 36 abducted students The victims include 11 male and 25 female students: one SS3 student, 17 SS2 students, and 18 SS1 students.

The councillor representing the ward, Jagila Jabula, said the list was compiled by the school management in collaboration with parents of the missing students.

Names of students still in captivity: