Fear gripped residents of Mussa-Biri community in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Friday after suspected Boko Haram insurgents reportedly stormed a school and abducted several students.
The attack was said to have occurred at Mussa-Biri Primary School and Junior Day Secondary School while pupils and students were receiving lessons.
Sources in the community disclosed that the heavily armed insurgents invaded the area on motorcycles shortly after troops on routine patrol departed the vicinity.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers moved into the schools and whisked away an unspecified number of students from both the primary and junior secondary sections.
“The terrorists came in large numbers on motorcycles and forcefully took away several students from the schools in Mussa-Biri,” the source said.
However, another resident later disclosed that most of the abducted victims, including a teacher, had regained freedom hours after the incident.
The source explained that only four students were yet to be accounted for as of Friday afternoon.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, Nahum Daso, said communication challenges had made it difficult to obtain details from the Divisional Police Officer in Askira-Uba.
Mussa-Biri community lies on the outskirts of the Sambisa Forest, an area notorious for insurgent activities and repeated attacks on farmers and villagers in recent years.