Askira/Uba  Askira/Uba is a Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Askira. It has an area of 2,362 km² and a population of 138,091 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 601. One of the villages of Askira/Uba, Lassa, was the origin of a new virus found in the blood of returning American missionaries, and first identified by a virology research team in a laboratory at Yale University, who named it "Lassa virus" after the location where it first appeared. In July 2014, the villages of Huyim and Dille in Askira/Uba LGA were attacked by suspected Boko Haram gunmen, with nine and thirty-eight deaths respectively. The attackers came from the Sambisa Forest. Displaced residents "need help from governments and spirited individuals."