Troops of Operation Hadin Kai, supported by personnel of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force, have foiled an attempted mass abduction by suspected ISWAP terrorists at the Federal Government Girls College in Monguno, in Borno State in Nigeria's northeast. The military said all 46 students at the facility were rescued, but confirmed that some of them lost their lives during the attack.
The college is currently being used by the Borno State Government as temporary hostel accommodation for students of the Federal Polytechnic, Monguno. The incident has once again underscored the persistent security threats facing communities in the northeast and the evolving tactics of armed groups that target places where young people gather.
According to the military account, the attackers moved on the facility during the night in an attempt to seize the students. Alert security personnel engaged them with coordinated firepower, stalling their advance before they could carry out the abduction they had planned.
A quick reaction force moved in to reinforce the position at the school, and the combined effort of the troops and the mobile police was enough to repel the attackers and prevent what officials said could have become another major school abduction of the kind the region has seen in the past.
Following the operation, all 46 students were rescued and evacuated to safety, where they were given a medical assessment and confirmed to be stable. The military stressed that no student was taken captive by the attackers, a point it presented as central to the outcome of the night.
The military also confirmed, however, that some students lost their lives after being struck by the terrorists' gunfire during the exchange. It did not give a specific number of those killed in its statement, and the account made clear that the deaths occurred amid the crossfire rather than in captivity.
Security agencies say the operation is not yet over. They report that troops and other forces are tracking the fleeing attackers, while work continues to identify and apprehend the suspected collaborators who may have helped the group reach the school in the first place.