Islamist fighters 'kidnap 90 women and children' from Nigeria villages
Reports of mass abduction come two months after Boko Haram militants kidnapped
more than 200 schoolgirls from nearby northeastern town
Nigerian relatives of the missing schoolgirls during a protest in Maiduguri last month Photo: EPA
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen laid siege to a series of villages in northern
Nigeria for three days before taking 60 women and girls and 31 young men
hostage, raising further concerns about the effectiveness of Abuja’s
response to the militant group.
Nigerian police said that they were launching an investigation into the
reported kidnappings on Tuesday, though villagers quoted in the Nigerian
media said the attacks started last Thursday.
Armed forces have been deployed across northern Nigeria since more than 200
schoolgirls were seized there two months ago, but reports of fresh
abductions illustrate the ineffectiveness of state security in the face of
the Islamists.
Details on the latest attacks were hard to come by. Diplomatic and security
sources said it was extremely hard to establish communications with the
area, a series of villages 60 miles from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno
state.
At least four people were killed as they tried to escape the gunmen, Aji
Khalil, a leader of a local neighbourhood watch group, told Nigeria’s
Vanguard newspaper.
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