Over 50 Children, Including Toddlers, Abducted in Nigeria

Mon Jun 01 2026 18:22:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A violent kidnapping incident in Borno State has resulted in the abduction of more than 50 schoolchildren, with many as young as two years old. Eyewitnesses described the harrowing scenes as the gunmen fled using the children as human shields.

In a recent wave of violence, armed assailants kidnapped over 50 children, most aged between two and five, from schools in Borno State, Nigeria. The incident highlights ongoing security challenges as parents and communities grapple with anxiety and helplessness amid repeated attacks. Eyewitness reports indicate a strategic approach by the kidnappers, with claims suggesting involvement by notorious militant groups such as Boko Haram.

Gunmen have kidnapped more than 50 children from three schools in the same town in north-eastern Nigeria, teachers and parents have confirmed. Most of those missing are aged between two and five years old.

Eyewitnesses who witnessed the attacks on Friday morning in Mussa, Borno state, reported that the suspects used the children as human shields while escaping on motorbikes, hindering security forces from intervening.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks thus far. However, a statement from Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South indicated that at least 42 children were abducted from two schools, as government officials remain unresponsive to media inquiries.

The kidnappings occurred at the Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and State Universal Basis Education Board (SUBEB) Secondary School. Reports suggest that the attacks share characteristics with assaults attributed to Boko Haram, an Islamist group competing with the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) for control of the region.

Nigeria is wrestling with a series of mass abductions perpetrated by various groups amidst prolonged insecurity in Borno state. The latest incidents have driven some residents to flee the area, while traumatized parents wait anxiously for updates on their children's safety.

A father expressed his horror as his six-year-old daughter was taken, leaving his wife inconsolable. Abdu Dunama, the headmaster of Mussa Central Primary School, recounted hearing gunfire as armed men stormed the premises, seizing children as young as five from their classrooms.

Troops were present on patrol shortly before the incident, prompting an urgent plea from the farming community, already in economic distress, for government assistance to ensure the safe return of their children.

As security forces conduct operations to locate the abductors, parents and community members continue to grapple with the psychological toll of these attacks, reflecting a desperate and ongoing battle against insecurity in the region.