Members of the radical Islamist sect- Boko Haram have abducted 91 persons from seven villages in Borno State, vanguard reports.
According to a local vigilante official, who made this known on Monday night, said the sect members also killed four people who tried to escape, adding that the victims were kidnapped between Thursday and Sunday from Kumanza, Yaga and Dagu, Damboa and Dagu, Damboa and Askira Uba Local Government Areas of the state.
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Man claiming to be leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, in video screengrab, unknown location, Sept. 25, 2013. |
The Chairman, Sector 5 of the local vigilante group, Aji Khalil, who spoke on telephone said: “More than 60 women were among the villagers abducted by Boko Haram terrorists”.
“Some suspected Boko Haram members invaded Kumanza, Yaga and Dagu villages and kidnapped 91 persons. More than 60 married women and young girls as well as children and young men were forcefully taken away by Boko Haram terrorits. Four villagers, who tried to escape were shot dead on the spot”, Khalil said.
Another source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: ”They went from one village to the other, killed about 30 people and took away many children and women.”
According to him, hundreds of villagers around the area have fled the villages to Lassa to take refuge.
It was gathered that news of the attacks did not get to Maiduguri on time as the villages are about 100 kilometres away from the state capital.
Meanwhile, as at press time, no official confirmation could be gotten from the state police or military. The chairman of Damboa Local Government, Alamin Mohammed, could not be reached on his mobile phone, but when the council secretary, Modu Mustapha was contacted, he said he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
It was further gathered from a source that four suspected sect members were apprehended by residents in Lassa, few kilometres from Kummabza, Gurdlagwal, Yafa and Yaza villages which had been previously attacked. He said that the suspects were caught while buying large quantities of foodstuffs at Lassa market, on Monday, adding that it was the quantity of the items that aroused the suspicion of traders and other people at the market.
“People suspected the four men may be Boko Haram errand men, who came to the market to buy foodstuffs and also spy for the insurgents” he said. “We’ve handed them over to the military for investigation.”
The Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad popularly known as Boko Haram, is an Hausa language meaning “Western education is sin”. The terrorist group has its strong hold in the northeastern part of the country, Cameroon and Niger. It has launched several deadly attacks and bombings which have claimed thousands of innocent lives in their quest to Islamise the country and put an end to what they described as westernisation.
According to Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, while testifying before a congressional committee recently said, the terrorist group has recently taken effective control of 10 local government areas in Borno State, forcing most residents to flee their homes.
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