At least 47 women are missing in northeastern Nigeria after a mass kidnapping by jihadists, leaders of militias fighting them told AFP on Tuesday. The attack took place on Friday in Borno state, gripped by a jihadist insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people and forced two million from their homes since 2009, and was carried out by members of the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP).
Women in a camp for displaced people in Ngala, near the border with Cameroon, were collecting firewood when they were “surrounded by ISWAP rebels,” Shehu Mada, the camp manager for the anti-jihadist militia, told AFP.
The number of abducted women may be higher
“Some women managed to escape,” he added, but “47 women (…) could not be found. They were kidnapped by jihadists,” he said. Usman Hamza, another anti-jihadist militia leader, confirmed these figures, pointing out that “47 women (…) did not return” from collecting firewood after the attack.
According to Borno state police spokesman Nakhum Daso Kenneth, the attack took place on Friday at 16:00 local time. However, the police did not provide exact figures on the number of those abducted. Ngala local government information officer Ali Bukar said he had received reports of more women being abducted.
Kidnapping in Nigeria, often for ransom, is a serious problem and affects the entire country. Gangs operate on highways, in victims’ homes and even in schools; they operate from bases in the forests of the northwestern and central states of the country. In early February, at least thirty-five women returning from a wedding were abducted by armed men in northwestern Katsina State.
The new kidnapping on Friday took place near the town of Chibok, whose name is still associated with the 2014 kidnapping of more than 270 young girls aged 12 to 17 by the Islamist group Boko Haram, sparking huge international outrage. and a campaign called #BringBackOurGirls for their release.
President Bola Tinubu came to power in 2023 promising to tackle insecurity fueled by jihadist groups, bandits in the northeast and rising communal violence in the central states. But critics say the violence is out of control.
Source: Le Parisien
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