The Borno State Government has confirmed receiving a proof-of-life video showing 36 students abducted by terrorists from Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira/Uba Local Government Area.

The students, comprising 25 girls and 11 boys, were kidnapped on June 29 during attacks on communities in the Lassa axis of the state.

Borno State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abba Wakilbe, disclosed the development on Saturday during the Borno State Education Summit in Maiduguri.

Wakilbe played the 15-second video while delivering a presentation on the security challenges affecting education in the state.

The summit, themed “Strengthening Safe, Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Education: Building Back Better,” was organised in partnership with the Malala Fund.

According to the commissioner, the state government is continuing efforts to secure the release of the abducted students.

“Since the Chibok abduction, we have not had such an issue until recently, when we recorded the incidents in Mussa and subsequently in Lassa,” he said.

“From the Lassa abduction, we have 36 students in captivity. Of the 36, 25 are girls, and 11 are boys.”

SaharaReporters reported that journalists attending the summit were shown the footage, but officials declined requests to release it to the media.

Those who viewed the video said the students were seated on the ground, with some wearing the uniform of Government Day Secondary School, Lassa. Two armed terrorists reportedly stood behind them beside a flag bearing Arabic inscriptions.

Wakilbe said authorities had yet to receive reliable information about students abducted earlier from the Mussa community.

He warned that repeated attacks on schools represented one of the greatest threats to educational development in Borno State.

“If this does not stop, progress will not happen, and much of what we have achieved will be reversed,” the commissioner said.

He appealed to residents, humanitarian organisations and development partners to support the government’s efforts to protect schools and sustain access to education across the state.

The latest incident has renewed concerns over attacks on educational institutions in northern Nigeria, more than a decade after Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in 2014.

Although many of the Chibok schoolgirls have regained their freedom, several remain missing.

The Borno State Government said at least 78 students are currently being held captive following separate abductions across the state.

The development also comes amid renewed national concern over school safety following the recent abduction of students and examination officials during the National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination at a secondary school in Kogi State.

The victims were later released, but the incident intensified calls for improved security around schools and examination centers.

Education stakeholders have warned that continued attacks could reverse years of progress in conflict-affected communities, discourage school attendance, and force more parents, particularly those with female children, to withdraw them from education.