SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that over 100 displaced persons were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in the attack. SahaReporters learnt that the IDPs were kidnapped in Gamboru Ngala, near the Nigerian border with the Republic of Chad.
The United Nations has condemned the reported abduction of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that over 100 displaced persons were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in the attack. SahaReporters learnt that the IDPs were kidnapped in Gamboru Ngala, near the Nigerian border with the Republic of Chad.
They were kidnapped while fetching firewood in a bush on Sunday, according to residents of the area.
This comes a few days after the state governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, boasted that 95 percent of fighters with Boko Haram ideology had either been killed or surrendered to Nigerian troops.
But the UN has “strongly” condemned the “reported abduction of internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of them women, boys and girls, in the Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State”.
Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria in a statement on the reported abduction of scores of civilians in Ngala, Borno on Wednesday, noted that the exact number of people abducted “remains unknown but is estimated at over 200 people”.
It said, “On 29 February, members of a non-state armed group (NSAG) 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 urge 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.
“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. 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.”