Fear and grief have continued to grip Lassa community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State following Monday’s attack on Government Day Secondary School by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists.
Although troops, supported by local hunters, rescued nine students and a teacher after a gun battle that claimed the lives of a soldier and a hunter, many students and teachers remain in captivity.
The community’s anguish deepened on Tuesday when security personnel returned from the rescue operation without the remaining victims.
“They only brought back our children’s school bags and uniforms. When they dropped them, mothers broke down in tears and started calling the names of their children,” said Adamu Lassa, father of the school’s head girl, Wamdai.
He said he managed to reach his daughter’s phone after the abduction.
“She cried and said, ‘Forgive me, Baba, they have abducted us.’ A man then collected the phone and assured me nothing would happen to them.”
Adamu said his wife had been inconsolable since the attack and was later admitted to the hospital.
Another parent said the abducted child was his first son and the family’s breadwinner.
“My wife has not stopped crying. Seeing the children’s school bags made the pain even worse. If they had died, we would have buried them, but living without knowing their fate is more painful,” he said.
Despite the attack, residents insisted they would not stop sending their children to school.
“Lassa is known for education. We have produced professors, doctors and other professionals. Terrorists will not stop us from educating our children,” another parent said.
The parents appealed to the federal and Borno State governments to intensify efforts to rescue those still in captivity.
One of the rescued girls, whose identity was withheld, said the terrorists claimed they were taking the students to care for younger children abducted earlier from Mussa Primary School.
She said the captives were divided into groups and transported on motorcycles into the bush.
“Our group was the last to leave. The motorcycle developed a fault just as security forces opened fire. The terrorists abandoned us and fled, giving us the chance to escape,” she said.
She added that the abductors appeared unfamiliar with the area and relied on a guide to navigate through the bush.
Meanwhile, youths in Lassa protested during a visit by the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Lawan Wakilbe, preventing him from addressing parents.
List of 36 abducted students
Daily Trust has obtained the full list of the 36 students abducted from Government Day Secondary School, Lassa.
The list shows that the victims comprise 11 male and 25 female students. They include one SS3 student, 17 SS2 students and 18 SS1 students.
The councillor representing the ward, Jagila Jabula, said the list was compiled by the school management in collaboration with the parents of the missing students.
The names of the students still in captivity are:
Wamdai Adani
Partsi Simon
Fati Shehu
Lydia wazamdai
Samuel Emmanuelle
Dauda Joshua
Martha Hassan
Fadee Musa
Monday Jamul
Joshua Hassan
Suzuna Sunday
Maryam Abdul Aziz
Zakariyya Samson
14.Bitrus Munda
15.Lucy Emmanuel
Rebecca Joshua
Esther Ibrahim
Esther Hamman
Deborah Emmanuel
Presilla Isuwa
Victor Monday
Victoria Waziri
Destiny Silas
Sundra Sunday
Paulina Oga
Mary Sine
Samuel Timothy Abba
Raju Wadzani
Godiya Margirmari
Janada Danjuma
Ibrahim Ijaj
Margret Ijaj
Kwoji Yohanna
Martha Wajau
Gabriel Dauda
Laraba Anthony
News Credit to our media partner DailyTrust Home .
