At Least 44 Killed as Nigerian Militants Hit College Dorm

Boko Haram Presumed to Be Behind Attack

Militants tore through a dormatory full of students from the Yoba State College of Agriculture overnight, killing at least 44 people as their slept before attacking the college and burning classrooms as well.

The colleges in Yoba had recently reopened after a promise from officials that they would be “guarded” by soldiers, though the college provost said that they had never actually arrived and no one was protecting the college at the time of the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but this is the third attack against a school in Yoba in the past few months, and Boko Haram, initially founded on the idea of spurning Western education, is presumed behind it.

Exact death tolls are still uncertain, and an estimated 1,000 students fled the college after reports of the attack emerged, so how many are missing remains to be seen.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.