Gunmen abduct students sitting exams in northeast Nigeria

Gunmen stormed a secondary school in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state on Monday morning and abducted students while they were sitting national examinations, police said.

The attack took place at Government Day Secondary School in the town of Lassa, where teenagers aged around 16 to 17 were taking exams when armed attackers burst in and opened fire.

Nigeria’s military said troops tracked the attackers and engaged them in a firefight, during which one soldier and one member of a paramilitary support force were killed.

Officials said 10 students and teachers were rescued during the operation and were found unharmed. They are now receiving care.

However, authorities confirmed that several students remain missing, and the total number of those abducted is still being verified.

Borno police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said security agencies, including the military and police, were searching nearby forests in an effort to locate and rescue the missing students.

Military spokesperson Captain Mohammed Goni said search operations were continuing.

Insecurity in Borno state

The attack highlights the ongoing security challenges in Nigeria’s northeast, particularly in Borno state, which remains the centre of a long-running insurgency.

Armed groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have operated in the region for more than 15 years, carrying out attacks on civilians, schools, and security forces.

Nigeria continues to face multiple overlapping security threats beyond the northeast insurgency, including mass kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs and recurring communal violence in other regions.

School abductions have become a recurring tactic in parts of the country, fuelling fear among communities and disrupting education in already vulnerable areas.

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