Forty-nine women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram earlier in the week near Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, have been freed on Friday morning after a state official paid a ransom for their release, according to two of the victims and a local leader.
The women, who were taken from their farms on Tuesday morning in Shuwaei Kawuri village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, disclosed to Reuters that they were released at midnight after Boko Haram informed them that their families had met their demands for ransom.
Although the Islamists had demanded a ransom of 3 million naira ($3,891.86), the women, who are primarily impoverished peasant farmers, were freed after a state official negotiated their release by paying 1 million naira to the attackers, revealed the local traditional leader. As he was not authorized to speak to Reuters, he requested to remain anonymous.
Borno’s commissioner for youth and the police spokesman, Sani Kamilu Shatambaya, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In late July, at least ten farmers were beheaded by Islamists in Borno, an area highly affected by insurgency and serving as the epicenter of a 14-year war on terror in Nigeria that has also impacted Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
According to residents, the militants have been targeting and killing farmers in the region, disrupting agricultural communities and potentially leading to an increase in food prices for a country already grappling with high inflation.
($1 = 770.8400 naira)
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi; Editing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Sandra Maler)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
