At least 47 women are missing in northeastern Nigeria after a mass kidnapping perpetrated by jihadists, militia leaders fighting them told AFP on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Friday in Borno state, gripped by a jihadist insurgency that has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced 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 insurgents", the head of the camp told AFP. an anti-jihadist militia, Shehu Mada.
Number of women kidnapped could be higher
“Some women were able 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, indicating that “47 women (…) did not return” from collecting wood after the attack.
According to Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Daso Kenneth, the attack occurred at 4:00 p.m. local time on Friday.
The police, however, did not give a precise figure regarding the number of people kidnapped.
A member of the Ngala local government information service, Ali Bukar, said he had received reports of even higher numbers of kidnapped women.
Also read: Nigeria: Boko Haram claims the kidnapping of hundreds of high school students
Kidnappings in Nigeria, often for ransom, are a major problem and affect 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 kidnapped by armed men in Katsina state (northwest).
The new kidnapping on Friday took place not far from the town of Chibok, whose name remains associated with the kidnapping in 2014 by the Islamist group Boko Haram of more than 270 young girls aged 12 to 17, which had provoked a huge wave of 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 surging intercommunal violence in central states.
But critics say the violence is out of control.