Battling Boko Haram: Nigerian authorities shut down village school after attack by militants

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In Nigeria, the militant group Boko Haram attacked a village in northeastern Yobe State on Monday evening. Eyewitnesses say the militants arrived at the village of Dapchi on trucks, then let off shots and explosives. Students and teachers fled into the surrounding bush. Authorities have since closed the Government Girls' Technical College. Thuli Tshabalala has more on the aftermath of that attack.

This government school in Dapchi has been temporarily shut down. Authorities say it is to enable students to reunite with their families and calm fears after the Boko Haram attack. But the residents of Dapchi village are still reeling from shock.

YUSUF ADAMU PARENT "All the people of this town are really desperate, most of our people slept in the bushes, armless."

Students have been recalling moments of the attack and how they escaped.

SARATU JOHN STUDENT "We were at the school eating, some of us were into prayer between the Christians and the Muslims. We are just hearing shooting the gun anywhere and we don't know where we are going. We just moved far from this. But today they released us and we are going back home."

Security has been beefed within and around the premises of the school.

SUNMONU ADEYEMI ABDULMALIK COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, YOBE STATE "We are relying on the school authority to furnish us with the statistics, so we can work on them. No doubt, some students are still missing. The school has not been able to account for them."

Authorities say classes will resumes after a week. Thuli Tshabalala, CGTN.