Mussa, Borno State: Gunmen Kidnap Over 50 Schoolchildren, Toddlers Among Missing
Over fifty children, many aged between two and five years old, were seized from three schools in Mussa, Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria, on Friday morning. Teachers and residents confirmed the abductions from Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and State Universal Basis Education Board (SUBEB) Primary School.
Witnesses stated that armed men used the children as human shields as they fled on motorbikes, effectively preventing security forces from engaging them. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Local accounts suggest the incidents share characteristics with tactics employed by Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group vying for regional control with its rival, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Nigeria continues to face a surge in mass abductions, contributing to decades of insecurity in Borno State. The latest kidnappings have prompted some Mussa residents to abandon their homes.
Abdu Dunama, headmaster of Mussa Central Primary School, described hearing gunfire before armed individuals stormed the premises, seizing 34 pupils, predominantly nursery-aged children. Residents observed the suspected militants arrive on motorcycles shortly after a military patrol departed the town, firing shots to disperse locals. Many parents watched from a nearby hill as their children were loaded onto motorcycles and taken away.
The predominantly farming community, already experiencing economic hardship, has issued an urgent appeal to the government for assistance in securing the children's safe return. Security forces are reportedly on the ground, actively tracking the abductors.
