NECO Candidates, Teacher Abducted As Badits Disguised as Security Agents 

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen abducted an unspecified number of National Examinations Council, NECO, candidates and a teacher in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday, police said. 

Police spokesperson ASP Nuhu Kenneth Daso confirmed the attack occurred between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. “Students and teachers were abducted. As of now, the number of those abducted is unspecified,” Daso said. 

*Attackers in Security Uniforms* 

A senior security source told _SaharaReporters_ the gunmen wore military camouflage and Forest Guard uniforms and arrived on motorcycles and Hilux vehicles. They surrounded Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, and took students without initially firing shots, the source said. 

One teacher was abducted, the source said. Two others were shot — one killed and another wounded in the neck and taken to hospital. The abducted teacher was identified as the vice principal. The source said most of those taken were female, including his niece, 18, and a neighbor’s daughter, 18. 

The school is less than 500 meters from a military base at the Federal Science and Technical College, Lassa. Students of the technical college had been relocated to Michika, Adamawa State, because of insecurity. 

*Allegations of Security Vacuum* 

The source alleged that soldiers at the Lassa camp left on a patrol to nearby Dille village, about 7 kilometers away, less than five minutes before the attackers arrived, and did not return during the incident. 

“What the villagers are looking at is a suspicion of conspiracy and foul play,” a community leader told _SaharaReporters_, adding that residents believe the timing raised questions. The leader said it was not established fact and that he would seek to verify who ordered the patrol. 

The security source also alleged the attackers used motorcycles similar to those given to vigilantes and Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, members. He said he did not believe local vigilantes were involved and suggested they may have been drawn away with the soldiers. 

Police said a joint team of police and military personnel had begun a pursuit operation “to rescue the victims.” 

Officials had not confirmed the total number missing as of Monday afternoon. The security source said poor network and panic had delayed a headcount.