Boko Haram abducts 60 women in Adamawa

Despite the ceasefire declaration and efforts by the federal government to negotiate the release of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April, about 60 women were reportedly kidnapped by the terror sect from Waga Mangoro and Garta villages in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State following renewed attacks unleashed by the insurgents.

However, as news broke about the most recent abductions in the North-east, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the $1 billion loan request made by President Goodluck Jonathan for the procurement of military hardware to end the insurgency.

Whilst 40 women were said to have been abducted from Waga Mangoro, 20 were forcibly uprooted from their homes in Garta.

Sixty women were reportedly abducted by suspected members of the deadly Boko Haram sect at Waga Mangoro and Garta villages, both in troubled Adamawa State during a fresh attack.

Forty of the women were said to have been abducted in Waga Mangoro and the other 20 were forcefully taken away from Grata.

Some of the fleeing residents from the area, who called journalists in Yola on the telephone lamented that scores of insurgents riding motorcycles and driving vans had invaded their towns.

The fleeing residents while lamenting the capture of the two towns, said they were able to sneak out of the captured towns on Tuesday, but disclosed that their villages were ravaged on Saturday.

One of those that was about to flee the area, Tizhe Kwada told journalists that the area had been under the control of the insurgents for about two months now.

He said that though one of the attacked towns, Garta had been under what could be termed as the control of the insurgents for sometimes now, but that did not stop them from overrunning it and carting away the young women.

Kwada claimed that the insurgents cordon off the entire town and went from one house to another in Garta in search of young women who they took in their vans to an unknown destination.

He said, “The insurgents are still in the area. And they have slaughtered many men in Garta and abducted many young women. We also heard from residents of Wagga that they killed two men and took 40 women away from there.”

A community leader from Michika, a neighbouring town to the two attacked towns, Emmanuel Kwache, while confirming the incident to journalists in Yola on Wednesday said, “I got the information from villagers in the area that the rampage was still in progress.”

But when he was contacted, the Chairman of Madagali Local Government Area, James Watharda, said “I had all along been in Yola since the insurgents took over the area and as such I can speak little of happening in the area.”

As of the time of filing the story, both the military and security agencies could not be reached for confirmation.