A faction of Boko Haram has released footage of 416 abducted civilians, including women and children, prompting renewed calls for immediate action from Nigerian leaders and the international community to secure their release.
A faction of Boko Haram has released a video showing 416 people abducted from Ngoshe in Borno state’s Gwoza local government area, in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to signal the captives are still alive. BusinessDay said the footage, obtained on Thursday night, showed the hostages being interviewed while guarded by armed fighters, with the group offering what it described as "proof of life". Other outlets, including Naija News and The Guardian, reported that the captives were mostly women and children who appeared in relatively stable condition.
In the recording, the militants said the hostages had not been tortured or sexually abused. The group identified itself as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, or JAS, and said the video was made after a request from the Borno South Youths Alliance, according to the reports.
Samaila Ibrahim Kaigama, president of the alliance, confirmed that his group had been serving as a quiet intermediary since the abduction, BusinessDay reported. He said the figure of 416 given by the insurgents was higher than numbers previously circulated in the media, suggesting the scale of the incident had been underestimated. The alliance said its involvement was driven by the need to protect lives and restore dignity to affected families, while insisting it does not support insurgency.
The captives seen in the video, including infants, elderly people and women said to be in fragile health, appealed for intervention. A woman in the footage said they were receiving food and basic medicines, but remained in danger. The Borno South Youths Alliance urged President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima to act quickly, and also appealed for support from the United Nations and other international figures, including Donald Trump, to secure their release.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
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