Six Women Kidnapped In Borno Before Lassa School Attack, Residents Allege

Suspected terrorists abducted six women, including three nursing mothers, from a farm in Mussa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, on Sunday—just a day before gunmen reportedly attacked a secondary school in neighbouring Lassa and abducted an unspecified number of students, residents have told NEWSNGR.
According to residents, the women were seized while working on a farm located about one kilometre from Mussa, the same community where 42 pupils were abducted from a primary and junior secondary school 47 days ago.
“They took six women. Three of them are nursing mothers. They are from our community. They kidnapped them on the farm,” a resident said.
The latest incident came barely 24 hours before the reported attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, on Monday.
Residents said armed men stormed the school during examinations, killed at least one teacher and took away an unconfirmed number of students.
Lassa is situated near the Adamawa State border and shares close proximity with Mussa.
“This morning, they interrupted the examination. We cannot verify the number of students they took. They also killed teachers,” a resident said.
Another resident claimed the attackers arrived on motorcycles on Lassa’s market day and trapped teachers and students inside a classroom before carrying some of them away.
“The teachers and students were trapped in the classroom. There was no way to escape or jump through the windows. They attacked them and took some of them away,” the resident said.
The back-to-back attacks have heightened fears across the area and disrupted farming activities, residents said.
“We depend on farming for our livelihood. We cultivate crops and rear cattle and sheep. The first time they came, they took our cattle. The second time, they abducted our children. Now, they have taken women from farms barely one kilometre from the community.
“We are afraid to go to our farms. If we stop farming because of insecurity, hunger will follow,” another resident lamented.
Residents have appealed to the federal and state governments, as well as the international community, to urgently intervene.
“We are calling on both local and international media to help draw attention to what is happening here. The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous,” a resident said.
According to residents, military aircraft were later seen conducting aerial surveillance over the area following reports of the attacks.
“We have been seeing Air Force planes circling overhead for nearly an hour. They are patrolling the area, apparently searching for the kidnappers,” a resident said.
Meanwhile, parents of the 42 pupils abducted from Mussa nearly seven weeks ago told THE WHISTLER they have yet to receive any update on the whereabouts of their children.
The parents said government officials had informed them that efforts were ongoing to secure the pupils’ release and advised them against speaking to the media to avoid complicating negotiations.
“One government official told us that work is ongoing and asked us not to grant interviews because it could create misunderstandings with the attackers,” a parent said.
Another resident disclosed that two farmers abducted earlier in the area were eventually released after a ransom was paid.