Fourteen members of a student’s family are among hundreds of worshippers reportedly abducted by terrorists during attacks on four Juma’at mosques in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The student, Muhibbat Abass of Akram’s College of Health Science and Technology, said her father, siblings and other relatives were taken captive during the attacks on August 21.
According to her, the affected communities of Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida and Gidan-Zana were attacked while residents were observing Friday prayers.
Muhibbat said the abduction had left her family traumatised and forced her and her younger brother to stop attending school because their father, who previously paid their fees and provided for them, was among those abducted.
She appealed to the Federal Government and Niger State Government to intensify efforts to rescue the victims.
The affected communities have claimed that more than 500 people were abducted, with a list containing the names of 547 alleged victims released by community leaders.
However, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago previously disputed the figure, saying 63 people were kidnapped, including 33 from a mosque and 30 others from a market.
The communities rejected the governor’s figure and maintained that hundreds of residents were taken into the Kainji Lake National Park forest.
Security agencies have said efforts are ongoing to rescue the victims and bring them back safely.
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