BREAKING: Terrorists Storm Primary School, Abduct Dozens of Pupils
Scores of pupils of Mussa Askira Primary School in Uba Local Government Area of Borno State were reportedly abducted on Friday after suspected Boko Haram terrorists invaded the school. Sources said the attackers, believed to be members of the Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram, stormed the school around 9 a.m. and whisked away several students. Residents alleged that despite the presence of military personnel and operational vehicles in the community before the attack, soldiers reportedly withdrew into nearby mountains as the insurgents approached the area. According to sources familiar with the incident, the terrorists operated freely for several minutes without resistance and left with the pupils unhindered. One of the sources said the community was shocked that no gunshot was fired throughout the operation despite the reported heavy military presence in the area. “At about 9 a.m. today, Boko Haram came to Mussa Askira Primary School. They came and took some students away,” the source said. “The people there confirmed to me, including some district leaders, that there was a heavy military presence with several operational vehicles. But immediately the terrorists started approaching, the soldiers moved towards the mountain and left the place unprotected.” The source further alleged that the insurgents encountered no resistance from security operatives during the attack. “There was not even a single gunshot from the army. The terrorists came unopposed, abducted the students and left,” the source added. Residents were said to have blamed security authorities for allegedly failing to protect the community despite the military deployment in the area. Another source claimed that the JAS faction of Boko Haram later admitted responsibility for the abduction. As of the time of filing this report, the exact number of abducted pupils had not been confirmed. Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the Nigerian Army were unsuccessful, as calls to the mobile line of the Army spokesperson, Colonel Onyechi Appolonia Anele, were not answered. Similarly, the spokesperson of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, could not be reached for comments as he neither answered calls nor responded to a text message sent to him.
