Insecurity: Fresh 13 Teenage Girls Abducted in Borno

Members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terror group yesterday abducted 13 teenage female farmers from Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

The Deputy Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, who confirmed the abduction, said the victims were abducted on their fields in Mussa District.

This has happened less than one week after the mass abductions of students from the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School Maga in Danko Wasagu Local Area of Kebbi State and St. Mary’s Secondary and Primary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.

The raids occurred alongside an attack on a church in Kwara, in which two people were killed and dozens abducted.

The surge in abductions comes amid rising international tension. It would be recalled that the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, had threatened military action over what he terms the persecution of Christians by radical Islamist groups in Nigeria, a claim rejected by the Nigerian authorities, insisting that the issue is more complex than the way it is being presented.

Nigeria continues to grapple with the legacy of mass kidnappings, most notably the 2014 abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram militants. Many of those victims remain missing more than a decade later.

Speaking on the latest incident, Abdullahi, who represents Askira-Uba constituency, said the 13 abductees who are between the ages of 15 and 20 went to their farmland in Mussa farming area to harvest their crops when the assailants took them away.

He explained that both Huyim and Mussa are farming communities in Askira -Uba LGA, but the government relocated the residents of Huyim to Mussa due to lack of security.

He said, “The victims are among those relocated to a relatively peaceful community of Mussa to earn means of their livelihoods through joint community farming.

“One of the victims who managed to escape has been reunited with her family.

“But, the other 12 victims, mostly between the ages of 15 to 20 years, are still in the custody of the abductors whose whereabouts remain unknown.”

Reacting, the Senator representing the area, Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) called on the security agencies to intensify efforts and safely rescue the victims unhurt.

He appealed to people in the areas to continue to pray for the safe return of the abducted girls, while providing timely information to security agencies and relevant authorities on any suspected movement of terrorists in their respective communities.

50 abducted Niger students recovered

In a related development, 50 out of the 315 people abducted from St. Mary Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara LGA of Niger State on Friday, have been recovered. The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora confirmed the development yesterday through a statement issued by the Diocesan Secretary, Rev. Fr. Jatau Luka Joseph.

A parent whose three children (aged between 12 and 18) remain missing recounted how the 50 students escaped from their captors.

Speaking with Daily Trust via telephone, Dangiwa explained that although his three children were not among the returnees, the 50 students seized the opportunity to flee when one of the trucks transporting them broke down.

Dangiwa stated that he had gone to verify the identities of the returned students but could not find any of his children among them.

“I went to check the students who escaped, but my children were not among them. One of my children is 18, the second is 15, and the third is 12 years old.

“The 50 children that returned actually escaped from the captors when one of the trucks conveying them developed a fault. The abductors used three Mitsubishi Canter trucks. According to the children, when the truck in front developed a fault, the bandits followed the remaining two on motorcycles while some stayed back to fix the faulty truck. The older children jumped down and ran into the forest, luckily encountering good citizens who rescued them.

“However, the smaller ones could not jump, so the bandits went away with them,” he said.

Source: Daily Trust