Families of pupils abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State have appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts to rescue their children, saying they have been left in anguish more than two months after the incident.
The appeal comes days after security forces rescued teachers and pupils abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Both the Borno and Oyo school kidnappings occurred on May 15, 2026.
Over 40 pupils and teachers, including toddlers as young as two years old, were kidnapped during the attack on the Mussa school. Since then, no group has claimed responsibility, while families say they have received no information about the victims’ whereabouts.
Chairman of the parents’ committee, Ishaku Suya, said the only government official to visit the community after the abduction was the Borno State Commissioner for Education, who assured them that rescue efforts were underway.
“Since then, we have heard nothing. We are happy the Oyo pupils have been rescued, but our own children appear to have been forgotten,” Suya said, urging the Federal Government to demonstrate the same urgency shown in the Oyo operation.
Other parents described the prolonged silence as heartbreaking, saying they remain uncertain whether their children are alive or safe.
Meanwhile, youths and students staged a peaceful protest in Maiduguri, demanding the immediate rescue of abducted pupils from Mussa, Lassa and other affected communities.
The protest convener, Suleiman Muhammed, praised security agencies for the successful rescue of the Oyo victims but urged the government to apply the same determination in securing the release of children still in captivity in Borno.
Another protester, Muhammed Mustapha, questioned why the Borno victims had received far less public attention despite being abducted on the same day as the Oyo schoolchildren.
The protesters also called for stronger support for security agencies, improved equipment for troops battling insurgency, youth employment programmes, and an end to ransom payments, arguing that such payments only encourage further kidnappings.