Gunmen kidnap six women and two babies in Borno farming area

Just a day before gunmen attacked a secondary school in Lassa, Borno State, six women and two babies were kidnapped while they worked on farms nearby. This information comes from community sources who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES.

The women were taken on Sunday while farming between Mussa and Huyim District in the Askira/Uba Local Government Area. A community leader shared this in separate phone interviews on Tuesday.

The sources revealed that two of the women had their babies with them when the attackers came. “They kidnapped six women. Two of them were carrying their babies, making eight persons altogether,” said the community leader.

According to another source, the kidnappers arrived on motorcycles. They grabbed the women and quickly escaped through bush paths. As of Tuesday, the families had not heard from the kidnappers.

When asked if the attackers had contacted anyone or asked for ransom, the source responded, “No, no, no.” The latest incident at the school happened just two weeks after another kidnapping in the same area.

The community leader noted that a man and a woman were taken from a farm on 13 June. They were released after their family paid a N3 million ransom. This pattern of abduction has raised serious fears among the people, who say farming has become more dangerous even with ongoing security operations in southern Borno.

The farm kidnapping was followed on Monday by an attack on a secondary school in Lassa. This happened while students were getting ready for the ongoing NECO examinations. The attackers killed one teacher, hurt another, and took several students. This led to a search-and-rescue operation that included troops from Operation HADIN KAI, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), and local vigilantes.

Jagila Jabila, the councillor for Lassa Ward, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that seven students and one teacher were rescued, but 35 students are still missing. The Nigerian Army released a statement on Monday saying that troops of Operation HADIN KAI, with support from strike aircraft and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, engaged the attackers around Daggu. They had a firefight that led to the rescue of 10 victims, who were unharmed. Efforts continue to rescue those still missing.

The Army also reported that one soldier and one member of the Civilian Joint Task Force lost their lives in the operation. Meanwhile, the Borno State Police Command is working to reconcile attendance records with school officials and parents. This is because some students ran into nearby communities during the attack, making it tough to know the exact number of those taken.

The recent attacks have raised alarms about the security situation in Askira/Uba. Residents say their communities are increasingly at risk, both on farms and in schools. These events come about six weeks after many pupils were abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, another community in the same local government area. This attack raised more concerns about school safety in southern Borno.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked Ms Jabila if there were new security measures around schools after the Mussa abduction, she simply said, “No.” Residents express that the series of attacks has left many families in fear as the rainy season approaches. Farmers now have to decide whether to take the risk of farming or stay away from their only source of income.

At the time of this report, neither the police nor the military had released a public statement about the farm kidnapping that happened on Sunday between Mussa and Huyim District.