Terrorism: 76 primary schools closed, 80 students still missing in Borno

Only 56 out of 113 primary schools are open in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. About 80 students remain missing after being taken during attacks on their schools in May and June, according to the local education authority.

Before the attack in Mussa in May, 76 schools were running, Fasuma Askira, the local government’s education secretary said.

Mrs Askira explained that security issues forced education officials to shut down schools in areas around Mussa, Lassa, and other vulnerable parts. She noted that schools on the outskirts of communities and in other dangerous areas were also affected.

The two attacks on schools in Askira-Uba happened within 45 days. On 15 May, suspected insurgents attacked Mussa and took away many children. PREMIUM TIMES later got a list showing 40 missing children, though the numbers from the community and government have varied.

On 29 June, insurgents struck Government Day Secondary School in Lassa while students were taking their exams. Some of the abducted students were rescued soon after the attack, but PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that 36 students and one teacher are still missing.

These attacks have raised worries about education in areas already struggling with insecurity.

Mrs Askira mentioned that after the Mussa attack, the local education authority recommended closing schools in insecure areas. She said that junior secondary students from Mussa were moved to a government boarding school in Uba.

Education officials also told the local government chairman to bring in community vigilantes around schools when classes resumed, she added.

Mrs Askira said soldiers were sent to Mussa and Lassa along with local vigilantes. She explained that this situation has made it hard to keep schools running near places that are seen as targets for attacks.

The figures from the education authority show how serious the disruption is. Before the Mussa crisis, 37 of Askira-Uba’s 113 primary schools were already closed. Of the 76 that were still open, another 20 have now shut down.

These school closures continue as many children taken from the two communities are still missing.

It has been over 100 days since the Mussa attack on 15 May. The exact number of children still missing from that community is unclear. PREMIUM TIMES’ first list had 40 children, while the Borno State Government has recently mentioned “about 44” pupils.

In Lassa, 36 students and one teacher remain missing after the attack on 29 June, according to PREMIUM TIMES’ checks.

Using the latest numbers from the Borno Government for Mussa and the confirmed figure for Lassa, about 80 students from these two communities are believed to still be in captivity, along with the teacher from Lassa.

As of 31 August, the Mussa children have been gone for 108 days, while the Lassa students have spent 63 days in captivity.

Simon Waindu, whose daughter is one of the kidnapped Lassa students, told PREMIUM TIMES on 31 August that none of the children had come back home. He said the families have not received any news about a possible rescue.

For Askira-Uba, the two attacks have left two ongoing issues: school children are still missing, and 20 primary schools have been closed since the Mussa attack.