Toba Owojaiye reporting
Borno State
Boko Haram insurgents have reportedly kidnapped 319 women and girls from the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Ngala, the headquarters of Gambarou Ngala in Borno State.
The abduction occurred last Sunday when the women went to fetch firewood in the bush for domestic and commercial purposes, according to a source from the Babban Sansani IDPs camp.
Truth Live News confirmed the abduction through security forces, stating the number as around 113, the source from the IDPs camp insisted that 319 young girls and some boys were taken. Three girls succeeded to escape, and revealed that they were taken to a bush close to Bukar-mairam village in Chad republic.
Most of the abducted girls were from Babban Sansani camp, with others from Zulum and Arabic camps.
It is reported that the economic pressures and hunger in the camp, reportedly drove the IDPs to venture into unsafe areas despite security warnings.
This marks one of the major abductions in Borno since the infamous kidnapping of 276 girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in 2014. The security situation in the region continues to pose significant challenges, with economic hardships pushing vulnerable populations into perilous situations.