Boko Haram Storms School, Abducts NECO Candidates, Kills Teacher in Borno.
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu
Democracy Newsline Northern Bureau Chief
June 29, 2026.
LASSA, BORNO STATE — Terrorists suspected to be members of the Boko Haram insurgent group on Sunday launched a deadly attack on Lassa town in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting an unspecified number of students sitting the ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, killing at least one teacher, and leaving residents in fear.
The attack, which occurred on a busy market day, threw the community into confusion as heavily armed insurgents reportedly stormed the town on motorcycles, dressed in military camouflage.
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Witnesses said the gunmen fired indiscriminately, forcing traders, residents, and students to flee for safety.
According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists invaded the secondary school where students were writing their NECO examinations. The assailants allegedly rounded up an unspecified number of examination candidates along with several teachers before taking them to an unknown destination.
Residents said at least one teacher was shot dead during the attack while attempting to protect students. As of press time, the exact number of casualties and abducted persons had not been officially confirmed, with families and local volunteers continuing to search for missing relatives.
The latest incident has heightened concerns over the safety of schools in Nigeria’s North-East, where educational institutions have repeatedly been targeted by insurgent groups over the past decade. The abduction of students during a national examination has further raised fears about the security arrangements surrounding public examinations in conflict-affected communities.
Several residents expressed frustration over what they described as the absence of security personnel at the time of the attack.
According to community sources, troops stationed in Lassa had reportedly departed on a routine patrol to nearby Uba, approximately 16 kilometres away, shortly before the insurgents struck. This account has not been independently verified.
“The soldiers were not around when the terrorists invaded,” one eyewitness told Democracy Newsline. “They came in large numbers, firing sporadically and causing panic everywhere. They took away students writing NECO and their teachers.”
Parents and relatives of the missing students have gathered in the community, anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones, while local leaders have appealed to security agencies to intensify search-and-rescue efforts and ensure the safe return of those abducted.
When contacted for an official reaction, the spokesperson of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, said the command was gathering information on the incident.
“I am in a meeting at the moment. We are gathering evidence and I will call you back,” the police spokesperson said.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Borno State Government nor military authorities had issued an official statement confirming the number of casualties or those abducted.
The attack underscores the continuing security challenges confronting communities in Borno State despite ongoing military operations against insurgent groups. It also raises renewed concerns about the vulnerability of schools and the safety of students sitting public examinations in areas affected by insurgency.
Residents have called on the Federal Government, the Borno State Government, and security agencies to strengthen the protection of schools, particularly during national examinations, and to take urgent steps to rescue those abducted and bring the perpetrators to justice.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JUNE 29TH 2026)
