New Delhi, May 16 -- At least 42 Nigerian schoolchildren remain missing following a Friday raid by suspected Islamist militants on an educational facility in the conflict-ridden northeastern state of Borno, according to a regional lawmaker.

Local residents reported that heavily armed men stormed the Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the Askira-Uba Local Government Area while classes were actively underway, taking an unconfirmed number of hostages. Senator Ali Ndume, who represents the Borno South district, released a statement confirming that school administrators notified him that 32 students were seized directly from the campus, while an additional 10 children were taken from nearby residential homes.

Borno State-a vast ter...