Students were killed after Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists attempted to abduct students of the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Monguno, Borno State, in the early hours of yesterday, before troops of the North-East Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), foiled the attack and rescued all 46 students.

The Acting Media Information Officer of OPHK, Capt Mohammed Goni, who disclosed this in a statement, said the rescued students received immediate medical assessment and appropriate care.

According to him, “All rescued students have been confirmed medically stable and no student was abducted. Regrettably, some students were fatally struck by the sporadic gunfire from the terrorists during the firefight.”

The military said the attempted mass abduction was foiled in collaboration with personnel of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (MOPOL) in the early hours of Sunday at the college.

Goni said: “The ground troops successfully foiled an attempted mass abduction by ISWAP terrorists at the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Monguno, at about 1:30 a.m. on July 19, 2026.”

He explained that the FGGC facility is currently being used by the Borno State Government as temporary hostel accommodation for students of the Federal Polytechnic, Monguno.

The information officer added that the terrorists reportedly gained access to the facility with the assistance of suspected collaborators in an attempt to abduct the students.

“This alerted the security personnel, who immediately engaged the terrorists with coordinated and overwhelming firepower, effectively stalling their advance until reinforcements from Sector 3 and a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) arrived.

“Confronted by the superior combat capability and determined resistance of the security forces, the terrorists were forced to abandon their criminal mission and flee in confusion without achieving their objective.”

Goni said that during the encounter, parts of the school infrastructure were damaged, but the attack was successfully contained by troops in conjunction with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.

He added: “Following the operation, troops successfully rescued and evacuated all 46 students to Kinnasara Barracks, Monguno, where they received immediate medical assessment and appropriate care.”

Operation Hadin Kai extended its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and reassured the public that all necessary measures were being taken to safeguard residents and protect critical public institutions across the North-East in collaboration with the Borno State Government.

He added that effort is ongoing to identify and apprehend the suspected collaborators, while troops and other security agencies are actively tracking the fleeing terrorists.