By Suleman Ayuba and Onibiyo Segun
(Maiduguri,Borno State) The video lasted only 15 seconds. For families in Lassa, southern Borno, it was the first proof their children were still alive.
At the Borno State Education Summit in Maiduguri, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology Abba Wakilbe displayed footage of students abducted from Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, a town in Askira/Uba County near Borno’s Sambisa Forest, a vast expanse of scrub bushes on arid sand.
Some students sat on the ground wearing their school uniforms. Two armed men stood behind them holding a flag with Arabic inscriptions.
Wakilbe said the state government received the video and was working with security agencies to secure their release.
“Since the Chibok abduction (of 2014), we have not had such an issue. Not until recently did we have the issue in Mussa and subsequently in Lassa,” Wakilbe said.
He added that 36 students remained in captivity – 25 girls and 11 boys.
The students were abducted on June 29 while writing National Examinations Council examinations. Residents said attackers disguised in military uniforms stormed the school.
One teacher was killed during the attack. Security forces later rescued some students, but dozens remained missing.
Five Kidnappings, One National Pattern
But the footage illustrated a wider crisis that has defined Nigeria’s peculiar hellscape across many northern states: armed groups hold defenseless kidnapped men, women and children in remote forests where they wait for three outcomes: ransom, rescue or death.
The Lassa abduction on June 29 in Borno was preceded by another mass kidnapping of students in nearby Mussa, also in Askira/Uba County of Borno State.
On May 15, terrorists attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, abducting 40 children, including some under five years old, according to TruthNigeria reporting.
The attack followed coordinated assaults on nearby communities that killed eight people. Residents said attackers arrived shortly after troops left on patrol.
Together, the Mussa and Lassa attacks left 78 children missing.
But the hostage crisis extends beyond Borno.
TruthNigeria reporting by Mike Odeh James has documented alleged hostage camps around Kaduna State’s Rijana area, on the border between Kachia and Chikun counties, where survivors described prolonged captivity inside forests.
Thirty-seven worshippers abducted on April 5, Easter Day in Ariko village in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State have spent 105 days in captivity, according to New Moon Africa Media. Most of the hostages are women and children, but they include elderly blind men and sick residents who could barely stand. Reuben Buhari, a Kaduna-based journalist has re-posted photos of the group released by their captors on his FB, pointing out the numbers in the photos suggest that some have died in captivity.
“The magnitude of psychological distress and physical hardship these minors have undergone is unimaginable,” according to Buhari.
On February 3, terrorists attacked Woro, a rural community in Kaiama County, Kwara State, near the Kainji Lake forest belt.
The attack killed as many as 170 residents and led to the abduction of 176 women, children and other civilians.
Videos released after the attack showed captives shouting for help while terrorists reportedly issued ransom demands.
In Oyo State, terrorists abducted pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire County. After weeks in captivity, 44 victims were rescued during a military-led operation.
Governor Seyi Makinde said the attack happened hours after he announced his presidential ambition, raising questions about whether criminal groups may exploit politically sensitive moments. Security analysts interviewed by TruthNigeria said the political connection remains unconfirmed.
Across Borno, Kwara, Oyo and Kaduna, the question is where victims are being kept?
The Rijana reporting provides a key piece of the national picture: forests are holding spaces where abducted victims can be separated, moved between locations and kept away from rescue operations.
Survivor accounts described prolonged captivity inside forest camps where victims can suffer for months.
Retired General Chukwuma Okeke told TruthNigeria that “possible areas where terrorists may keep abducted victims include Sambisa Forest, remote southern Borno communities, Rijana in Kaduna State, the Kainji Lake corridor, Oyo National Park, routes around the Mandara Mountains along the Nigeria-Cameroon border and connections toward the Lake Chad Basin.”
Forest Networks Replacing Fixed Camps
Security analysts say armed groups are moving away from identifiable permanent camps and simply moving hostages from place to place at night.
Kabiru Adamu, a security analyst and founder of Beacon Consulting Limited, Abuja, said: “Terrorist groups are no longer relying only on permanent camps. They exploit difficult terrain, community networks and mobility corridors that allow them to move personnel and captives while avoiding detection.”
John Ali, a retired Nigerian Army intelligence officer and security analyst based in Abuja, said: “Terrorist groups understand the terrain better than outsiders. They can separate captives, relocate them and use difficult locations to delay rescue operations.”
Ali added: “The challenge is not only finding the fighters but identifying where victims are being held.”
Armed groups in Kaduna, Borno, Kwara and Oyo exploit the geography.
ISIS Terror Camps Spread Out in Northern States
“The fragmentation of Boko Haram has created multiple operational theatres where commanders can operate with some independence while maintaining ideological links,” said John Onah, a counterterrorism analyst and researcher on violent extremism based in Abuja.
Onah added: “The development has complicated rescue operations because different factions may share tactics and movement patterns without operating under one visible command structure.”
Security experts say schools remain attractive targets because they concentrate large numbers of children in predictable locations.
“The targeting of schools is not only about kidnapping. It is also about undermining confidence in education and government protection,” said Aisha Wakil, a Maiduguri-based lawyer and humanitarian advocate.
For families in Lassa, Mussa, Woro, Kaduna and Oyo, the waiting continues.
The 15-second Lassa video brought hope. For hundreds still missing, it remains the only sign they may still be alive.
Suleman Ayuba and Onibiyo Segun report on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
