The deputy speaker, Borno state House of Assembly, representing Askira-Uba local government area, Rt. Hon Abdullahi Askira, has confirmed the abduction of 13 female farmers by suspected members of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

The incident which took place Saturday occurred when the victims, who hails from Huyim district, had went to Mussa District to jointly harvest their farm produce.

Both Huyim and Mussa are located in Askira -Uba local government area of Borno south, but due to inaccessibility of Huyim, the victims relocated to a relatively peaceful community of Mussa to earn means of their livelihood through joint farming.

Hon. Askira said, “One of the victims escaped. She has since reunited with her family on Sunday morning, while the other 12 victims, mostly between the ages of 15 to 20 years, are still in the custody of the abductors whose whereabouts remain unknown.”

Both the Borno House of Assembly lawmaker and Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) while reacting to the sad news Sunday “called upon the security agencies to intensify efforts and safely rescue the victims unhurt.”

They also called on the people to continue to pray for safe rescue of all victims in Boko Haram/ISWAP/bandits custody and for lasting peace, even as they solicited for maximum support from all and sundry with timely information to security agencies and relevant authorities on any suspected movement of terrorists in their respective communities.