At least 100 women have been kidnapped in northeastern Nigeria in an attack blamed on a jihadist organization. Official Nigerian sources said this. There is no clarity about the exact number of people kidnapped; according to the United Nations, it may even be more than 200 people.
The attack took place last week in the rural Ngala region. Ali Bukar, a regional government communications officer in Ngala, said at least 113 people were missing. The police cannot yet provide an exact figure.
The UN emergency aid organization OCHA speaks of an attack that took place on Thursday, February 29. More than 200 people living in displaced persons camps have been kidnapped while searching for firewood. Most of the victims are women and children, the UN agency said. OCHA bases its balance on the assessment of local leaders. Checks are still being carried out in four camps to verify the figure.
“An unknown number of women and children under the age of ten have been released, but many displaced persons remain missing,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, UN coordinator for Nigeria.
Shehu Mada, the leader of an anti-jihadist militia, said the camps were attacked by members of the jihadist terrorist group Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram. “Some women were able to flee,” it continues.
Ransom
Mass kidnappings occur frequently in Nigeria. Typically, the kidnappers try to obtain a ransom. In early February, at least thirty-five women were kidnapped as they returned from a wedding in the northwestern state of Katsina.
The most high-profile kidnapping case in Nigeria occurred almost a decade ago. In April 2014, the Islamist group Boko Haram had kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, in the northeast of the country. Today, more than a hundred girls are still missing.
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