KANO, Nigeria _ Unknown assailants killed at least 25 people at a polytechnic school in northeastern Nigeria, invading the campus dormitory and shooting their victims or cutting their throats, authorities said Tuesday.
The attack at the Federal Polytechnic school in the town of Mubi in Adamawa state came as police press to curb violence attributed to the Islamic rebel militia Boko Haram, which is active across much of northern Nigeria.
Last week, police rounded up more than 150 suspected members of Boko Haram. Authorities also claimed they killed Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa in the raid and seized many weapons, as part of a wider crackdown in northern Nigeria designed to wipe out the militia. Boko Haram acknowledged Qaqa had been arrested by security forces, but denied he was killed.
The attack at the polytechnic institute may have been “fueled by campus politics” linked to rival factions there, after a recent student election, said Yushau Shuaib, spokesman for Nigeria’s Emergency Management Agency.
Campus politics, like local, state and federal politics in Nigeria, is often violent, although massacres are not common. Mubi reportedly has a mixed Christian and Muslim population, with victims from both faiths.
The assailants apparently sought specific targets, said Adamawa police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim.
“They called out their victims by name and shot or slaughtered them when they identified themselves,” Ibrahim said in a phone interview. “The attackers killed 25 people in all, including 19 students of the Federal Polytechnic and three other students of the School of Health Technology.”
Ibrahim said two security guards at the institute and a retired soldier were among the victims.
A relief official said 26 people were killed and another 15 who were wounded were taken to a hospital.
Boko Haram, which opposes secular education and secular governance, has attacked banking automatic teller machines, cellphone towers, schools, churches, mosques and police stations in recent months. It has destroyed some 30 mobile phone towers in northern Nigeria, crippling communications in some areas. The militia frequently assassinates Nigerian politicians and religious figures.
The rebel militia is responsible for more than 690 killings this year, according to The Associated Press, which keeps a count of deaths from attacks. The group made no statement claiming responsibility for the attack Tuesday.
Danjuma Aiso, a student who fled the polytechnic college, said a statement had been circulated in recent days warning students to leave the institute, AP reported. The polytechnic institute has been closed temporarily.
“We were to start our semester exams today but the school has been shut and we have been asked to leave,” said another student, Hadiza Balarabe, who instead went to the city of Yola. “This is too bad.”
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(Los Angeles Times special correspondent Abubakar reported from Kano, Times staff writer Dixon from Johannesburg, South Africa.)
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