More Students killed, ’46 rescued’ as troops foil ISWAP abduction attempt in Borno school

An unidentified number of students have been reportedly killed as troops of Operation Hadin Kai and personnel of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (MOPOL) have foiled an attempt by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists to abduct students at the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Monguno, Borno state.

Mohammed Goni, acting military information officer of Operation Hadin Kai, in a statement on Sunday, said 46 students were rescued during the operation.

The terrorists were said to have attacked the school at about 1:30am on Saturday after allegedly gaining access with the assistance of suspected collaborators.

Goni said the FGGC facility is being used as temporary hostel accommodation for students of the Federal Polytechnic, Monguno.

He added that some students were killed after being struck by stray bullets allegedly fired by the fleeing terrorists during the exchange of gunfire. It is not immediately clear whether the affected students are from FGGC Monguno or the polytechnic.

Alert security personnel immediately engaged the terrorists with coordinated and overwhelming firepower, effectively stalling their advance with Sector 3 Quick Reaction Force (QRF) immediately reinforcing the school,” the statement reads in part.

“Confronted by the superior combat capability and determined resistance of the security forces, the terrorists were forced to abandon their criminal mission and flee in confusion without achieving their objective. During the encounter, parts of the school infrastructure sustained damage, but the attempt was well contained by troops in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Force personnel.

Following the operation, troops successfully rescued and evacuated all 46 students to Kinnasara Barracks, Monguno, where they received immediate medical assessment and appropriate care.

All rescued students have been confirmed medically stable and no student was abducted. Regrettably, some students were fatally struck by the sporadic gunfire from the terrorists during the firefight

“Operation HADIN KAI extends its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and reassures the public that all necessary measures are being taken to safeguard the lives of residents and protect critical public institutions across the North East in liaison with the Borno State Government.”

The army said it is making efforts to identify and apprehend the suspected collaborators while security operatives are tracking the fleeing terrorists.