By Sam Kayode
The United Nations has strongly condemned the reported abduction this week of over 200 internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of them women, boys and girls, in the Ngala Council Area of Borno State.
In a strongly worded release signed by Mohammed Fall, the United Nations (UN) resident humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri, the UN stated that “the exact number of people abducted remains unknown up till now but it is estimated at over 200 people” still missing from the camps.
The release pointed out that on the 29th of February 2024, insurgents allegedly abducted the IDPs who had reportedly ventured beyond the safety of the trenches surrounding Ngala – from the ISS, Zulum, Kaigama, and Arabic IDP camps – in search of firewood.
“While an unspecified number of older women and children under 10 have reportedly been released, scores of IDPs remain unaccounted for, according to protection partners.
“I stand in solidarity with the families of all those abducted, especially children, and their communities and urged those who have abducted them to release them without harm.
“On behalf of the United Nations, I remind all parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians from harm.
“In addition, I urge authorities and other partners to provide more livelihood opportunities for IDPs in camps in Borno State, alongside ongoing efforts for lasting solutions, to reduce the risks of insecurity and violence faced by IDPs.” The release stated.
More than two million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states have fled to garrison towns where they have few, if any, livelihood options other than waiting for monthly handouts from Governor Babagana Zulum.
The release went further to state that “those who venture beyond the protective trenches surrounding these towns to forage or farm do so at great peril, with killings, abductions, forced recruitment and sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) rampant.
” Two days to the commemoration of International Women’s Day, this incident is a stark reminder that women and girls are among those most affected by conflict.
“The crisis in the BAY states is disproportionately affecting women, boys and girls. There is a high prevalence of GBV against women and adolescent girls, while boys are targeted for recruitment by NSAGs.”
This latest incident took place on Monday in Gamboru area, which shares a border with Chad and Cameroon, where Civilian Joint Task Force, (CJTF) fighters support the military to fight the insurgents of the Islamic state of west Africa (ISWAP) faction of boko haram.
The women had left their camps for IDPs in Gamboru to collect firewood on the shores of Lake Chad, where ISWAP is known to operate.
A reliable source hinted that: “they were ambushed by gunmen and made to walk across bushy paths into neighbouring Chad, adding that three of the kidnapped women managed to escape.
She later told newsmen that the gunmen surrounded them while picking the fire wood and they were asked to follow them into the savanna adding that she later escaped with two others on
Tuesday afternoon to safety.
The rest have been taken deep into the savanna along paths unknown to either the CJTF or the military.
No word of ransom has been heard as at the time of writing this report.
