More girls seized

The 11 girls were reportedly seized in Warabe and Wala when gunmen invaded the
communities.

Warabe is about 160 kilometres away from
Maiduguri, the state capital.

The community is located on the outskirts of
Gwoza town, which had witnessed a series of
deadly attacks by suspected terrorists in
recent times.

Police sources and residents confirmed the
kidnapping of the girls, said to be aged
between 12 and 15.

A resident of Warabe, who said he had since
relocated to Gwoza, Ishaku Bremcha, said
through the phone on Tuesday, "There was a
twin ambush by gunmen last night along
Guduf-Gava route of Gwoza Hills. The gunmen
came through the settlements of Hwa'a,
Chikedeh, and Guduf-Wala hills down to Wala
Kasa, and proceeded to Dure village, west of
Gwoza town with 11 abducted teenagers into
Sambisa Forest last night.

"The abductors did not inflict injury or kill any of us in Warabe and Wala, but took away 11 of our young daughters into the forest, after warning us not to report the kidnappings."

The Borno State Commissioner of Police,
Tanko Lawal, could not be reached for
confirmation because GSM lines to Maiduguri
were inaccessible.

But a top police officer, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, said some armed
hoodlums attacked two villages in the Gwoza
council area "and abducted about a dozen
teenagers."

A resident of Warabe, Mallam Bello Umar, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri, said, "A group of terrorists invaded Warabe village on Sunday night, abducted 11 of our teenage
girls and carted them away with our foodstuffs and livestock.

"As I am talking to you now, I have run to
Gwoza Council headquarters, and even in
Gwoza, we cannot move around easily due to
the fear of the terrorists. "The situation is so pathetic that almost everyone in Gwoza congregates at a safer zone close to the council secretariat where there is enough presence of security personnel."

Umar said the gunmen, numbering over 20
and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the
village but that they did not kill anybody.

"They simply abducted the 11 teenage girls
before fleeing towards the hilly border areas
between Gwoza and Cameroon Republic," he
added.

Reuters also quoted another resident of
Warabe, Lazarus Musa, as saying on Tuesday
that gunmen invaded the village and abducted the girls.

"They were many, and all of them carried
guns. They came in two vehicles painted in
army colour. They started shooting in our
village," Musa reportedly said.

A police source, who could not be named, also
said the Warabe girls were taken away in
trucks, along with looted livestock and food.