At least 30 children, both girls and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram this past weekend. The boys and girls were taken from a small village in northern Nigeria. This last abduction is the latest from a series of recent similar kidnappings done by Boko Haram. Because of these recent kidnappings, the authorities began losing hope for the recovery of the 219 schoolgirls taken hostage by Boko Haram and kept in captivity since April. This past weekend, the town of Mafa, in the state of Borno has been invaded by heavily armed Boko Haram gunmen. During Friday night, 30 boys and girls have been taken away by the group, according to local authorities. The news about Boko Haram’s most recent kidnappings emerged later, due to lack of telecom service in the area. The telecom towers which existed in the area, have all been destroyed by Boko Haram fighters a while back.
In the last few days, Boko Haram members took the town of Mafa by storm, abducting 30 boys, aged 13 and girls aged at least 11, according to Mafa local government chairman Shettima Maina. He added: “They took them away to their base in the bush, and we believe they are going to use them as foot soldiers”. The local chief of Mafa, Mallam Ashiekh Mustapha was the one who confirmed the kidnappings. He also said the Boko Haram fighters also took 300 cows from the farming community. Because of Boko Haram’s frequent raids in Mafa, the local population began fleeing the town, in a desperate attempt to escape the insurgents. On Thursday, Boko Haram murdered 17 people in the village of Ndongo, which was later emptied and set on fire. Mallam Ashiekh Mustapha. the local chief of Mafa declared: “Many people have fled with their families to Maiduguri for fear of being killed or losing their children to the insurgents.” According to Maina, the military forces did not intervene in order to stop the Boko Haram raids, even if local leaders made repeated complaints. Just last week, Boko Haram kidnapped 60 women and girls, in the neighboring Christian Adamawa state.
Boko Haram is a militant Islamist movement in Nigeria. The group has been trained by Al-Qaeda. It is also heavily funded by it. Boko Haram is believed to have up to a few thousands members. Between July 2009 and June 2014, Boko Haram is believed to have killed over 5,000 civilians.