Armed militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) abducted at least 36 students and one staff member during a morning raid on Monday at Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
The attackers stormed the school while students aged 15 to 18 were sitting for their final secondary examinations.
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Three people were killed: a soldier, a teacher, and a student, according to military officials and Amnesty International Nigeria.
Borno Commissioner for Education Lawan Abba Wakilbe confirmed that 25 female students, 11 male students, and one staff member remain in captivity.
Security forces initially rescued 10 victims, including the school's vice principal, though early military reports had miscalculated the remaining missing total.
Local government councillor Ijagla Ijabila shared a compiled list of captive students, including genders and parental contact details, with journalists.
An intelligence source later verified the documentation to AFP.
Police spokesman Nahum Daso initially told The Associated Press that details on the exact numbers were fluid during the immediate aftermath.
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“For now, we don’t have the number of how many students were abducted.
We have about 10 victims who have been rescued,” Daso said, without providing details on casualties at that time.
Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the assault, emphasizing that the federation must protect its vulnerable educational infrastructure from ongoing militant rampages.
“Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life,” the rights group said in a statement.
The group added that the protection of children’s lives is paramount, and the Nigerian government has a duty to ensure the educational sector is not further threatened by armed groups rampaging across northern Nigeria.
The incident reflects a broader resurgence of conflict-related abductions in northern Nigeria, where both ideological jihadists and criminal bandit gangs frequently use mass kidnappings to secure ransoms.
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The Lassa raid follows a May incident where gunmen seized over 40 pupils from Mussa village in Borno State, who also remain missing.
