Gunmen Abduct at Least 37 Students in Northeast Nigeria School Raid

Gunmen from the Islamic State West Africa Province stormed a secondary school in the town of Lassa in Borno State on Monday, killing three people and abducting at least 37 students who were sitting exams. The attack left a soldier and a teacher among the dead, according to the military. Officials initially said they had rescued 10 students and that only one remained missing.

Commissioner for Education Lawan Abba Wakilbe told reporters in Lassa that 25 female students, 11 male students and one staff member were still being held. Eight people, including the school’s vice principal, have been freed. A list of students in captivity showing their genders and parents’ mobile phone numbers was shared with journalists by the area’s local government councillor.

Kidnapping for ransom has become a common tactic for both armed groups and non-ideological bandit gangs operating across Nigeria’s conflict-hit north and centre. The 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram remains the country’s most infamous case, yet school abductions have continued.

In May, gunmen kidnapped more than 40 pupils from Borno State’s Mussa village, and dozens of schoolchildren were taken from three schools in Oyo State the same month. Nigeria has been fighting an armed uprising since 2009, concentrated in the northeast.

Violence has waned since its peak a decade ago, though attacks have increased since last year.