No fewer than 14 women and 2 girls were abducted by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents in Sabongari Madagali, in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa state, Thursday, locals and police sources have confirmed.
The women who were said to be in company of two local vigilante operatives before their abduction went into the nearby forest in search of fire wood and farm produce as others went for fishing in a nearby river before they abducted.
A source in the area said that two out of the women had managed to escape the snare of the abductors under the pretext of being drowned by the river.
The source said “the two women who are in real state of trauma told us that the suspected Boko Haram insurgents had a field day carting away the women when their escorts ran away for fear of dear lives,”
The source noted that on sighting the gunmen who came in their numbers wielding dangerous weapons, the vigilante men took to their heels for the fear of being killed by the rampaging assailants.
“The two local vigilante men took to their heels when they sighted the gunmen who were armed to the teeth.
“They left the women to their own faith as the gunmen were left unchallenged leading to the abduction of the said women,” the source added
Confirming the incident, the member representing Michika/ Madagali Federal constituency in the National Assembly Mr. Adamu Kamale said “I just received the shocking news to the effect that about 16 women have been abducted by Boko Haram.
“We have been witnessing pockets of attacks contrary to the belief that security has been fully restored in the area. As a member of National Assembly (NASS) I have been calling for the deployment of security personnel but to no avail as the government seems to have relegated our concerns to the background,” he regretted.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of Adamawa state command DSP Othman Abubakar confirmed the incident adding that on hearing about the development, the command sent a detachment of police officers to the affected area are working round the clock to track down the abducted women and girls even as he said normalcy has returned to the area.
