Shooting at Nigerian College Kills Dozens

The ongoing Islamic uprising taking place in the northeastern parts of Nigeria saw the loss of more lives in the early morning on Sunday. The attack began at around 1am while the students were sleeping in their dormitories at the Yobe State College of Agriculture. As many as fifty students aged eighteen to twenty-two have been killed. So far forty-two bodies were recovered by soldiers and eighteen wounded were transported to the nearby Damaturu Specialist Hospital. Two of the wounded later died.

It is suspected that the attack was orchestrated by Islamic extremists Boko Haram and most of the victims were Muslim. The school did not have any sort of security to protect the students despite the increased tension and danger in the region. Provost Molima Idi Mato expressed that the state commissioner of education begged for schools to reopen and promised security, but security never came though there was increased military presence in the area. Unfortunately the attackers were reportedly dressed in Nigerian military uniforms according to a survivor.

Boko Haram wants to end democracy and they believe education should only occur in Islamic schools. Boko Haram literally means “Western education is forbidden.” The group has killed more than 1,700 people since 2010 and violence has not showed signs of slowing nor stopping, especially with this latest attack.