Terrorists suspected to be linked to a Boko Haram faction that kidnapped 176 women and children from Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of the Kwara State have issued a one-week ultimatum to the Nigerian government, threatening to execute the captives if their demands are not met.
The community’s traditional ruler, Salihu Bio, whose wife is among those abducted confirmed the threat on Monday, explaining that Boko Haram delivered the warning through the victims after Jumu’ah prayer on Friday.
“The abductees told us that after the Jumu’ah prayer on Friday, the terrorists said the government was not taking the matter seriously and that if nothing is done within one week, they will begin to take drastic actions,” he said.
The ICIR reported that the terrorists who whisked away the abductees on February 3 have been demanding over N3 billion for the release of the victims.
Abductees including traditional and religious leaders in the affected communities were seen in two separate videos released on April 2 and 9, two months after they begged the state and federal government to rescue them from their captors’ hands.
In the latest footage, the victims, mostly women and children, appeared visibly exhausted and distressed. Many were seen wearing soiled clothes as they stood closely together under tense conditions while being addressed by armed men.
Bio in the latest development, said the terrorists voiced frustration over what they described as the government’s lack of commitment to negotiations, despite the resources they claim to be spending to keep the captives alive.
“The terrorists allowed one of the abductees to call her family on Saturday, and she confirmed that they were all fine. She also said the captors had been teaching them Arabic and Islamic knowledge,” he stated.
According to Punch, a community source also said that the captors threatened to marry off some of the girls and kill those they considered liabilities if no agreement is reached within the deadline.
“The Boko Haram fighters complained that they are spending money and resources to feed the abductees and that nothing is coming out of it. They said if nothing is agreed upon within one week, they will start marrying off some of the girls and kill those they consider liabilities. We are helpless. These are our wives and children. Now they are threatening to kill them or force them into marriage,” the source said.
In a video released by the group, an armed terrorist claimed responsibility for the abduction and alleged that the victims had been indoctrinated.
“We are the ones who kidnapped the people of Woro and Kososo. We have indoctrinated them and changed their way of life. However, the victims have been begging us, and we have given them the opportunity so that their government can hear from them. We are giving them a final opportunity to appeal to the government,” the terrorist said.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.