Victims went far from camp in search of firewood
The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, blames the abducted Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in Gamboru Ngala town, one of the least secure parts of the troubled Borno State, for their abduction.
The IDPs, mostly women and children, went missing on February 29 when they were out searching for firewood for cooking. The unusual disappearance sparked fears of possible abduction by Islamic extremist rebels.
DHQ’s spokesperson Major General Edward Buba, on Thursday, confirmed reports of the abduction.
He said 112 persons fell into the hands of the marauding terrorists, refuting media reports of over 200 people.
Nine of the “missing persons” however returned to the camp on Friday, 8 March, according to the head of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, in Borno, Barkindo Mohammed.
Buba said the abducted persons trekked beyond the authorised distance of five to seven kilometres from the camp, making themselves easy victims for attack.
“The standard practice was for troops to be notified prior to any movement of IDPs beyond the permissible distance of five to seven kilometres from their camp,” said the Major General.
“The IDPs reportedly went beyond the permissible distance to get firewood as a result of deforestation around their camp. The terrorist abducted 112 IDPs in the process.”
But he assured that the military and other security forces are determined to rescue the hostages.
“Because of the sensitivity of the matter, I cannot go into further details as to signs of life, location and the different options that we have in order to get these hostages back,” he added.
“I can further assure that getting these hostages back is very clearly at the top of our priorities. It is for this reason we have leveraged our international partners for support.”
Ezinwanne Onwuka, senior staff reporter and columnist with WAP is a Nigerian-based writer and content developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her interests include reading, writing, researching and graphic designing.
Latest posts by By Ezinwanne Onwuka (Senior Reporter) (see all)
previous
Tinubu: We won't pay a dime to kidnappers for freedom of schoolchildren, others
next
