Suspected members of Boko Haram on Friday attacked a primary and junior secondary school in Borno State, with several students feared abducted during the assault, according to local residents, security sources, and multiple media reports.
The attack reportedly occurred at Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Mussa village, located in the Askira-Uba Local Government Area near the Sambisa Forest, a region long considered a major stronghold for Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Witnesses said the insurgents stormed the community around 9 a.m. while classes were ongoing, arriving in large numbers on motorcycles. Residents reported hearing gunfire as panic spread through the school premises and surrounding areas.
A teacher at the school told Reuters that many pupils fled into nearby bushes during the chaos, but several others were unable to escape before the attackers withdrew. Local residents said the exact number of missing students had not yet been determined by authorities.
The Nigeria Police Force in Borno State confirmed that several students remained unaccounted for after the attack but stopped short of officially declaring a mass abduction while verification efforts continue. Borno police spokesperson Nahum Daso said many students scattered during the panic, making it difficult to immediately establish how many may have been kidnapped.
However, local residents and community leaders insisted that insurgents forcefully took away several pupils. One resident quoted in reports said two of his young relatives were among those missing after being taken “in an unknown direction.”
The President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, also confirmed the attack, saying the insurgents entered the school compound without resistance and abducted an unspecified number of students.
Additional reports indicated that the attackers struck shortly after soldiers on routine patrol reportedly left the area, raising concerns that the insurgents may have monitored troop movements before launching the raid.
Some accounts claimed the gunmen wore military camouflage and ordered students to follow them before fleeing the community.
The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the school invasion and described the incident as deeply disturbing. He said information available to him suggested many students escaped into surrounding bush paths, though details about those allegedly abducted were still unclear.
No group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but security analysts and residents said the operation bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram or ISWAP fighters, both of which remain active in northeastern Nigeria despite years of military offensives.
The incident has revived painful memories of the 2014 Chibok school kidnapping in which more than 270 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram from a secondary school in Borno State, drawing global outrage and the international #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
Although Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed significant victories against insurgent groups in the northeast, attacks on rural communities, military formations, and schools have continued in recent years. Analysts note that insurgents increasingly target soft civilian locations in remote areas where security presence remains limited.
Borno State has witnessed renewed insurgent violence in 2026, including deadly bombings and attacks on villages and military positions. In March, multiple explosions in Maiduguri killed dozens of people after years of relative calm in the city.
Friday’s school attack has already triggered fear among parents and residents across the region, many of whom have repeatedly demanded stronger protection for schools and students in conflict-prone communities.
As of Friday night, security agencies were said to be conducting search operations around the Askira-Uba axis and nearby forest corridors in an effort to locate the missing students and track the attackers.
Stone Reporters note that authorities have not yet released an official figure for the number of students missing, abducted, or rescued, while investigations and headcounts continue.
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