Loading ...MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — The fragile security architecture in southern Borno State has suffered another devastating blow following reports that heavily armed terrorists have abducted six women and two nursing babies.
The fresh abductions reportedly occurred within the vicinity of the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area—the exact community where Boko Haram insurgents staged a daring morning raid on students taking their National Examinations Council (NECO) exams just 24 hours prior.
The double tragedy has threw the entire agrarian enclave into total panic, forcing hundreds of traumatized villagers to abandon their homes for safety in nearby bushes.
Kidnapped In Broad Daylight: The Vulnerable Targets
According to local vigilante and community sources, the six women and two infants were intercepted by the marauding terrorists while attempting to flee the residual violence of the previous day’s assault.
The victims were reportedly cut off on a dusty pathway leading out of the community and bundled into the thickets by the insurgents, who were still lingering around the fringes of the area. The inclusion of two innocent babies has heightened anxiety among locals, who fear the captives may be dragged deep into the treacherous terrains of the nearby Sambisa Forest.
The Background: Dressed As Security Personnel
The latest abduction capitalizes on the deep chaos left by Monday morning’s calculated attack on the Lassa technical school.
In that incident, terrorists disguised in fake military fatigues and forest guard uniforms completely fooled the local population before opening fire on the school premises around 9:00 AM.
The heavily armed insurgents disrupted the ongoing NECO examinations, killing a dedicated teacher on the spot, injuring several students, and abducting a group of candidates and teachers. Although troops of Operation Hadin Kai launched a rapid counter-offensive and successfully rescued 10 of the exam candidates, the retreating remnants of the terror cell clearly remained in ambush to track and snatch fleeing civilians.
“We Are Living In Perpetual Fear” — Locals Cry Out
Borno State Police Command Spokesperson, ASP Nahum Daso, had earlier confirmed the deployment of heavily armed tactical squads to the area to restore confidence and track down the perpetrators.
However, community leaders in Askira/Uba argue that the presence of the military has not stopped the sophisticated espionage network of the terrorists, who routinely monitor troop movements before launching hit-and-run raids.
“The attackers are living among us on the borders of the forest,” a local hunter told reporters on the condition of anonymity. “They wait for the soldiers to pass on patrol, and then they strike our women and children. This is a well-coordinated hunting ground for them.”
Rising Threat Ahead Of National Exams
The consecutive security breaches in Borno mirror a deeply troubling national trend. Educational institutions across northern Nigeria have faced renewed vulnerabilities, sparking sharp criticisms against the federal government’s assurances that the back of the insurgency has been broken.
Civil society groups and labor unions are already demanding a total overhaul of the security deployments surrounding rural examination centers across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states to prevent another mass-scale tragedy reminiscent of historical school abductions.
As joint military and local vigilante operations intensify around the Lassa axis, 247ureports is tracking the rescue efforts to bring you live updates.
