By Politics Nigeria
Panic has gripped communities in Borno State after fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed a farming settlement in Askira-Uba and abducted no fewer than 13 teenage girls in a brazen daylight attack.
The shocking incident, confirmed by the Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Askira, occurred in the Mussa district where the victims—aged between 15 and 20—had gone to harvest crops as part of communal farming efforts.
Askira, who represents the Askira-Uba constituency, revealed that the girls were originally residents of Huyim but had been relocated to Mussa by the government due to persistent security threats in their community. Despite the relocation, the terror group struck again, targeting the most vulnerable.
According to him, the girls were on a routine farming activity when ISWAP militants surrounded them and whisked them away into an unknown location.
> “One of the victims managed to escape and reunited with her family on Sunday morning. But the other 12 girls, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, remain in captivity. Their whereabouts are still unknown,” Askira said.
The lawmaker described the attack as another painful reminder of the region’s fragile security landscape, calling on federal security operatives to act swiftly.
Reacting to the disturbing news, the Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, condemned the abduction and urged security agencies to launch an immediate coordinated rescue operation.
Ndume further appealed to residents to remain vigilant, report suspicious movements, and pray for the safe return of the abducted girls.
The latest incident adds to a worrying resurgence of mass kidnappings across northern Nigeria, a grim pattern that began with Boko Haram’s abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014 and has continued unabated in various forms.
As fear spreads across the rustic farmlands of Askira-Uba, families anxiously await the return of their daughters—yet another community thrown into anguish by insurgents’ unrelenting cruelty.
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