At least 42 students were abducted in an attack by the Boko Haram extremist group in northeastern Nigeria‘s Borno state, according to a Nigerian senator on Saturday.
Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South in the National Assembly, said the students were kidnapped during an attack on a school in the Askira-Uba area on May 15.
Business Day Nigeria said the attack targeted a government day secondary school in Mussa village, where armed assailants reportedly stormed the area during early morning classes.
Ndume said the incident left many parents and guardians devastated and traumatized.
“The school abduction is more terrifying because it happened when poor and resilient students were engaged in their early morning classes,” he said in a statement.
Ndume also appealed to security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army, to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted students.
Nigeria has long struggled with attacks by armed groups, including the Boko Haram extremist group, and the ISIS (Daesh) affiliated ISWAP, in various parts of the country.
Boko Haram has carried out attacks in Nigeria since the early 2000s, with tens of thousands killed in mass violence since 2009.
The government has taken steps to address the threat, including deploying troops and working with international partners.
In February, the US deployed about 100 military personnel to northern Nigeria to provide training, intelligence sharing and technical support to local forces as attacks by armed groups surged.
