The Borno State Government on Saturday said it had received a proof-of-life video showing dozens of students abducted during the 29 June attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, warning that renewed attacks on schools threaten hard-won gains in education across the insurgency-hit state.
The disclosure came at the Borno State Education Summit in Maiduguri, where the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abba Wakilbe, played a 15-second video during a presentation on the security challenges confronting the education sector.
Mr Wakilbe said 36 students remain in captivity from the Lassa abduction, comprising 25 girls and 11 boys, while rescue efforts continue.
“Since the Chibok abduction, we have not had such an issue. Not until recently did we have the issue in Mussa and subsequently in Lassa,” the commissioner said.
He warned that continued attacks on schools could reverse years of investment in expanding access to education in Borno.
“If this does not stop, progress will not happen, and a lot of what we have achieved will be reversed,” he said.
Officials declined journalists’ requests to release the video after it was shown during the summit.
According to journalists who viewed the footage, it showed the abducted students seated on the ground, some wearing their school uniforms, while two armed men stood behind them holding a flag bearing Arabic inscriptions.
Renewed concerns over school safety
The latest disclosure has renewed concerns over the safety of schools in Borno, where communities have endured repeated attacks on educational institutions since the Boko Haram insurgency began more than a decade ago.
Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, was attacked weeks after students were abducted from another school in Mussa, underscoring what education officials described as a resurgence of attacks targeting schools despite years of investment in school protection measures.
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Mr Wakilbe appealed to residents, humanitarian organisations and development partners to continue supporting efforts to protect schools and ensure children can continue learning despite the security challenges.
Children still in captivity
The commissioner said 78 students remain in captivity from separate school abductions in Borno, although he noted that authorities were yet to obtain fresh information regarding those abducted earlier from Mussa.
The disclosure comes more than a decade after the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, which drew global attention to attacks on schools in northeastern Nigeria and prompted increased investment in school protection initiatives.
Education stakeholders have repeatedly warned that continued attacks on schools could discourage parents from sending children—particularly girls—to school, threatening years of progress in improving access to education in conflict-affected communities.
