37 people remain captive after attack on school in Lassa, Nigeria
In Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, 36 students and one teacher remain captive following the attack on Government Day Secondary School in Lassa on June 29. Suspected insurgents attacked the school while students were taking the National Examinations Council examination, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
According to Milnda Lassa, a representative of the families of those abducted, residents pursued the attackers shortly after the attack and returned with six students and one teacher. Since then, according to him, none of the other abductees has escaped, been rescued or returned. The families have no up-to-date information about the condition of the children.
Attacks 45 days apart
The attack on the school in Lassa occurred 45 days after children were abducted in neighboring Mussa on May 15. Following that attack, the Borno State government announced the temporary closure and relocation of Government Day Secondary School in Mussa to Government Secondary School in Uba as an emergency measure under the Safe Schools Initiative.
On May 25, a delegation led by the state commissioner for education, science, technology and innovation, Lawan Wakilbe, visited Mussa, Dille and Lassa. According to the government, after assessing the security situation, the commissioner ordered the full implementation of Safe Schools Initiative measures in the affected schools until further instructions from the authorities.
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The status of the program needs clarification
Fasuma Askira, the education secretary of the Askira-Uba Local Government Area, who was part of the delegation, told the outlet in August that the Safe Schools program was not operating in schools in the area. She also said that the local education administration had recommended temporarily closing vulnerable schools near Mussa and Lassa and discussed involving local vigilantes to guard educational institutions after classes resumed.
The National Response Coordination Centre under Safe Schools did not provide the outlet with a substantive response to inquiries about whether the schools in Mussa and Lassa had been registered, inspected or assessed under the national program. The centre also did not clarify what security measures, if any, were taken between the two attacks.
Due to security threats in Askira-Uba, 56 of 113 primary schools are currently operating, while 76 were functioning before the crisis in Mussa. According to the local education administration, after security-related closures, 20 fewer primary schools were operating than before the May attack.
