The Vice Principal of Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, Paul Namaske, has described how a Nigerian military air operation created an opportunity for him, two teachers and several students abducted by terrorists to escape.   Speaking in a one-minute, 20-second video obtained by Punch on Monday, Namaske said the abductees were taken into the bush after terrorists attacked candidates writing the National Examinations Council examinations. According to him, the situation changed when a military aircraft began hovering over the abductors, forcing the terrorists to scatter. “Today, being June 29, the terrorists took us into the bush. When a military aircraft started hovering over us, the insurgents started dispersing. While this was happening, we heard gunshots from the soldiers, so they began to run while we started escaping. In the process, the soldiers rescued us,” he said. Namaske said the abducted group comprised two teachers and more than 20 students. “We are two teachers and about 20-something students. I cannot give the precise number, but at one point during the movement, when they gathered us in one place, I was able to make a rough estimate. They were about 20 students and two teachers,” he added. Earlier, the Nigerian Army confirmed that 10 abducted victims, including teachers and students, had been rescued during the operation. The Acting Military Information Officer of the North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Capt. Muhammed Goni, said troops, supported by strike and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft, launched a coordinated search-and-rescue mission after the attack. He said ground troops, guided by the air component, engaged the abductors around the Daggu area, leading to the rescue of 10 victims, who were unharmed and are receiving care. Goni added that troops inflicted casualties on the fleeing terrorists and recovered seven motorcycles during the operation. He, however, confirmed that one soldier attached to Operation Hadin Kai and one member of the Civilian Joint Task Force were killed during the firefight. Efforts are continuing to rescue the remaining abductees and apprehend those responsible for the attack.