Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped at least 20 young women over the weekend in northeastern Nigeria, 8 kilometers from a town where more than 200 schoolgirls were taken nearly two months ago, local officials said Monday.
The incident in the
village of Garkin Fulani is the latest in a series of abductions for
ransom in the area, according to an official with the Miyetti Allah
Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, the umbrella union of all
nomadic Fulani in the country.
The MACBAN official, who is in Garkin Fulani, put the number of women kidnapped at as many as 40.
The suspected militants came into the village in broad daylight on Saturday, heavily armed and wearing military uniforms.
A Borno state official confirmed the
abduction but said only 20 women were abducted.
"We are working to establish
the circumstances surrounding the abduction," the government official said
on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the
incident.
Alhaji Tar, a member of the
Vigilante Group of Nigeria, a loosely formed civilian force tasked with
providing security, also put the number at 20, along with three young men who
were left to look after the village while the other men took their cattle to
graze in the bush.
The location of the women is still unknown and the kidnappers have not made contact with their families, Tar said.
"This is not the first time
women are being kidnapped in this area. It has happened several times,"
said the MACBAN official. "They come and herd young women into their
vehicles and will only release them when 30 to 40 herds of cattle are paid as
ransom."
The fear of deadly reprisals
prevents the nomads from seeking military assistance, he said.
The terror group Boko Haram abducted
an estimated 276 girls on April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok. Dozens escaped,
but more than 200 girls are still missing. The
kidnapping drew widespread international condemnation.
SOURCE: CNN
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