Borno Attack: Boko Haram Reveals Demands, Appoints Negotiator for Peace Talks

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents holding more than 50 abducted residents in Borno State have reportedly asked the government to open negotiations through a journalist selected as mediator.

The development came as the Defence Headquarters assured families that efforts were ongoing to rescue 42 pupils abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area on May 15.

Thirteen of the captives were reportedly abducted on April 15 while travelling from Biu to Maiduguri.

They included a seven-month-old baby and her mother, a pregnant woman travelling with her three-year-old child, a couple, students, recent graduates and two siblings who reportedly sat in the vehicle’s boot because they could not afford the full transport fare.

The spokesperson for the victims’ families, Hassan Yati, told Saturday Punch on Friday that the insurgents had sent voice messages and a photograph showing that some of the captives were alive.

According to him, the messages suggested that more people were being held than the families had initially identified.

“We received voice notes telling us they, the victims, are alive and many in captivity, more than the number we are asking. We learnt they are over 50 in number there,” Yati said.

He added that the group wanted the government to contact it through a journalist whose identity he declined to disclose.

“Government should reach out to them through a journalist mediator they have chosen, whose name I am withholding,” he said.

Yati stated that the families were prepared to provide the government with the information and contacts they had received.

“So, if the government reaches out to us, we will link them up with the journalist, and they can pick it from there,” he added.

Asked whether the insurgents had made other demands, Yati said they were willing to provide further details once the authorities opened communication.

“It doesn’t have to be ransom like the case of Oyo. The government has the cards,” he said.

He appealed to the Federal Government and the Borno State Government to act quickly, saying the victims’ families had endured months of uncertainty.

“The demand of the terrorists is simple. Let the government engage them through the mediator they chose already,” Yati added.

On July 23, relatives of the captives and other concerned residents gathered at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Maiduguri to mark 100 days since the abduction and renewed calls for their release.

There are also growing concerns over the condition of 78 schoolchildren abducted during separate attacks in Askira Uba Local Government Area.

Forty-two pupils were taken during the May attack on Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School.

On June 29, suspected insurgents also invaded Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, and abducted 36 students and a teacher.

The two incidents brought the number of missing children to 78. Families have expressed fears about the children’s health and safety, particularly amid a cholera outbreak in the state.

CSOs Demand Regular Updates

The Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Borno State, Abubakar Suleiman, urged the government to provide regular information about rescue efforts.

He said, “For someone to be in captivity for more than two months, that is really horrific, and I align with the opinion that government is keeping the citizens in absolute darkness.

“We want the government to respond more quickly and provide clear updates about the situation of the missing children.”

Suleiman also appealed to the authorities to secure the release of all abducted Nigerians, regardless of their location.

“We also appeal to the government to ensure that every other citizen abducted, regardless of where they are, is reunited with their families,” he added.

A parent of one of the pupils abducted in Lassa, Emmanuel Keri, said the families had received no information since the attack.

He said, “We have not heard anything since their abduction in Lassa.

“I am begging the government to release our children for us. We are not happy at all.”

Another parent, who spoke anonymously, said the uncertainty had taken a severe emotional toll on the families.

She said, “You know in the North, as women, we have a culture of allowing men to champion issues like this and speak for us. But one thing I can tell you is that we are dying in silence.

“Every day, our minds are filled with assumptions. What is our offence? Is it a crime to send children to school?”

Military Promises Safe Rescue

Responding to enquiries on Friday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, said the military had not abandoned the abducted pupils.

Onoja said, “They can never be forgotten. The military is doing everything possible to get them released and hopefully, it will soon happen.

“Operation Hadin Kai has put in place measures to ensure that they are released safely.”