Nigeria closes 20 schools after attacks, about 80 students remain captive
Twenty primary schools have been closed in the Askira-Uba local government area of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria following attacks on educational institutions. Currently, 56 of the area's 113 primary schools are operating. About 80 students abducted during attacks in May and June remain in captivity.
This was reported by Premium Times Nigeria, citing Askira-Uba education secretary Fasuma Askira. According to her, 76 primary schools were operating in the area before the attack in Mussa on May 15. Due to the deteriorating security situation, education authorities closed facilities in vulnerable communities near Mussa, Lassa and other parts of the area, including on the outskirts of settlements.
Two attacks in 45 days
On May 15, suspected insurgents attacked Mussa and abducted dozens of children. The publication obtained a register listing 40 missing children, while subsequent data from the community and authorities cited different figures. The Borno State government later mentioned about 44 abducted students.
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On June 29, insurgents attacked the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa while students were taking National Examinations Council examinations. Some of those abducted were returned shortly after the attack, but Premium Times Nigeria confirmed that 36 students and one teacher remained in captivity.
Security measures
According to Fasuma Askira, junior secondary school students from Mussa were temporarily transferred to the Government Boarding School in Uba. Education officials also advised the local government chairman to involve community self-defense groups in guarding schools after classes resume.
Military personnel and local self-defense groups were deployed in Mussa and Lassa. Before the May crisis, 37 of Askira-Uba's 113 primary schools were already not operating, and another 20 were closed after the attack. As of August 31, children abducted in Mussa had been held captive for 108 days, while students from Lassa had been held for 63 days. Simon Waindu, the father of one of the abducted schoolgirls, told the publication that no child from Lassa had returned home and that families had received no information about a rescue operation.
