Ten National Examinations Council (NECO) candidates and instructors who were kidnapped during a terrorist attack on a secondary school in Lassa community, Askira/Uba Local Government Area, Borno State, have been freed by troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK).

In a similar vein, the Oyo State Police Command broke up a kidnapping syndicate in the Ibarapa axis and independently retrieved two kidnapped children.

In a statement released yesterday, OPHK's acting military information officer, Captain Mohammed Goni, revealed that at around nine in the morning, suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists on motorcycles stormed the Technical Secondary School in Lassa, close to the Adamawa State border, while students were taking their NECO exams. He claimed that after the terrorists started fire, a teacher was killed and an unknown number of pupils and teachers were kidnapped.

He said that in order to support a coordinated search and rescue effort, the Theatre Command promptly deployed soldiers and scrambled strike and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft from the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai.

Ten victims were saved unharmed during the ensuing gunfire after troops made contact with the militants near Daggu, according to Goni. He added that seven of the motorcycles used in the assault had been apprehended and that they were receiving care.

“Regrettably, during the intense firefight, one gallant soldier of Operation Hadin Kai and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force made the supreme sacrifice in the course of defending innocent civilians,” Goni stated.

He continued by saying that attempts were being made to free the other kidnapped people and prosecute the offenders.

According to Goni, security measures in the area's schools and vulnerable communities have been enhanced, and efforts against the terrorists responsible for the attack have been stepped up. He saw the incident as proof of the terrorist organizations' desperation, since they had increasingly targeted vulnerable civilian populations due to ongoing military pressure.

Just one month had passed since 42 kids from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the same Askira/Uba LGA were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants.

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