By Amah
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Nigeria’s worsening insecurity has again dealt a devastating blow to the nation’s fragile education system as coordinated attacks on schools in Borno State and Oyo State left communities gripped by fear, with many pupils, students and school workers feared abducted.
In a disturbing reflection of the growing vulnerability of schools across the country, armed attackers riding motorcycles stormed educational institutions in both Northern and Southwestern Nigeria within hours of each other, killing at least two persons and throwing families into anguish over the fate of missing children and staff.
The latest assaults reinforce mounting concerns that schools are increasingly becoming soft targets for terrorists, bandits and criminal gangs, exploiting weak security presence in rural communities.
In the Northeast, suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents invaded Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Mussa village, Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, a remote community, bordering the notorious Sambisa Forest long regarded as a major hideout for terrorists.
Residents said the insurgents stormed the village in the early hours of Friday on motorcycles, arriving barely minutes after troops stationed in the area had departed on patrol duties. The timing of the attack has triggered fresh fears that the terrorists closely monitored security movements before launching the operation.
Chaos reportedly erupted across the school premises as frightened students fled into surrounding bushes while the attackers advanced into the community.
A resident, Solomon Mussa, raised alarm in a social media post, revealing that schoolchildren were among those affected by the attack and calling for urgent prayers and intervention.
Confirming the invasion, the Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, said details surrounding the number of abducted students were still sketchy at press time.
According to him, many pupils escaped into nearby bushes during the attack, though fears remain that several others may have been taken away by the insurgents.
“It is disheartening that the incident happened only a few minutes after troops left the community. This clearly suggests the attackers were monitoring security movements before striking,” he said.
The incident adds to a long history of attacks on schools in Nigeria’s Northeast, where Boko Haram insurgents have repeatedly targeted students and educational institutions as part of their violent anti-Western education ideology.
While anxiety over the Borno attack was still spreading, another wave of horror unfolded in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where armed hoodlums simultaneously attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and Community Grammar School/L.A Primary School, Esiele.
According to the Oyo State Police Command, the attackers abducted pupils, students and staff members, including Vice Principal Mrs. Alamu Folawe, during the early morning raid.
Police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka said an assistant headmaster identified as Mr. Adesiyan was shot dead during the assault, while an okada rider was also killed after reportedly resisting attempts by the gunmen to seize his motorcycle.
The attackers were said to have fled with a Toyota Corolla belonging to the abducted vice principal before later setting the vehicle ablaze along a forest escape route.
In response, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, led tactical operatives and other security agencies to the affected communities for an immediate assessment and rescue coordination.
Police authorities said tactical teams, intelligence platforms and operational assets had since been deployed across the area to track down the perpetrators, secure the release of victims and prevent further breakdown of law and order.
The twin attacks have once again exposed the deepening crisis surrounding school safety in Nigeria, where students and teachers increasingly study under the shadow of violence and uncertainty.
For many Nigerians, the assaults are not isolated tragedies but part of a dangerous national pattern in which armed groups continue to exploit poor rural security, porous forests and delayed emergency response systems.
Beyond the immediate grief and panic, the attacks also threaten to worsen school dropouts, deepen fear among parents and undermine confidence in the country’s already struggling education sector.
As families wait anxiously for news of missing loved ones, fresh questions are emerging over whether Nigeria is truly winning the war against insurgency, banditry and organized criminal violence, or merely learning to live with recurring national trauma.
