Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

Sixty-three women abducted from different parts of Borno State by terrorists and held for about two weeks have escaped and reunited with their families.

The escapee women are believed to be part of the 68 who were abducted from Kummabza village in Damboa local government area of the state two weeks ago.

Their abduction had been denied by the federal government but Borno state government set up an inquiry into the incident.

It is believed that the government might have denied the abduction story as the nation was still going through the embarrassment of the kidnap of over 200 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok on April 14.

A member of the youth vigilante group, Adamu Suleiman, said he received an alert from his colleagues in Damboa area that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had escaped.

Suleiman added that although he is yet to get details on the escape, about five women are still held in captivity.

It is believed that the siege by the insurgents on military and security facilities last Friday on Damboa might have presented the women with the opportunity to flee from their abductors.

Some of residents of the villages where the women were abducted told journalists that the women looked trimmed and unkempt.