The police, residents and a federal lawmaker have confirmed the abduction of at least 16 female residents of Sabongari Madagali in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State by suspected Boko Haram Terrorists on Wednesday.
The police said a detachment of policemen had been deployed to search for the abducted persons.
Those abducted include 14 women and two girls.
The women were said to have gone on a fishing expedition at Magar River in company of some young men when eight gunmen grabbed them.
Their male escorts reportedly fled with one suffering a bullet wound to his arm while two other women also escaped and returned to the village.
The women who reportedly managed to escape the abductors were said to have pretended to have drowned
“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 their dear lives”, the source said.
He said two vigilante operatives who escorted the women ran for dear life on sighting the heavily armed men, who arrived in large numbers.
“They left the women to their own devices as the gunmen were left unchallenged leading to the abduction of the said women”, the source said.
A resident also disclosed that “Many of the abducted persons are middle aged and elderly while two are young girls”.
The member representing Michika/ Madagali Federal constituency, Adamu Kamale, who confirmed the development, 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 NASS (National Assembly), 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”.
The Police Public Relations Officer of Adamawa, Othman Abubakar, said on learning about the development, the command deployed officers to the affected area.
He said police were working “round the clock to track down the abducted women and girls”.
