More than 200 internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of them women, boys and girls, were kidnapped by terrorists in Ngala, Borno state in northeast Nigeria.
The abduction reportedly happened on February 29. The terrorists, believed to be members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), allegedly abducted the IDPs who had reportedly ventured beyond the safety of the trenches surrounding Ngala in search of firewood.
The United Nations condemned the reported abduction of the IDPs.
Borno State police spokesman Nahum Daso Kenneth said the attack took place at around 4 pm on Friday, but the police could not give a precise figure for the number kidnapped or still in captivity.
While an unspecified number of older women and children under 10 have reportedly been released, scores of IDPs remain unaccounted for.
At least 47 women are still missing, anti-jihadist militia leaders told AFP on Tuesday.
“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,” Mohammed Malick Fall, the United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator said in a statement.
“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.”
Borno state is the epicentre of a jihadist insurgency which has left more than 40,000 people dead and two million displaced since 2009.
Ali Bukar, an officer at the Ngala Local Government Information Unit, said he had received reports the number was even higher.
Kidnapping is a major problem across Nigeria, which is also grappling with criminal militias in the northwest and a flareup of intercommunal violence in central states.
Last month kidnappers seized at least 35 women returning from a wedding in northwestern Katsina state.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power last year promising to address insecurity in Nigeria, but critics say the violence is out of control.
AFP contributed to this report.
