Six days after terrorists abducted worshipers during Friday prayers in Niger State, the state administration claims it has received no communication from the perpetrators and is still unable to determine the precise number of individuals abducted.
Obed Nuhu, the state commissioner for information, revealed this on Thursday, stating the August 21 attacks took place at three distinct places in the Borgu Local Government Area and were thought to be carried out by Lakurawa and Boko Haram forces.
Nuhu stated on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief stated that the authorities had no touch with the abductors.
“No such (contact with the kidnappers) has happened. We have not had any interactions with them but the suspicion is the Lakurawas as they call themselves and the Boko Haram. It happened in three different locations around that kingdom,” he said.
The commissioner also stated that the government was still gathering information on the number of victims, and warned against relying on unsubstantiated estimates.
He stated that the administration would not speculate on the number of persons taken until it had verified the information.
The development came about a week after suspected terrorists stormed Borgu towns and attacked worshipers at the Kpenya Mosque in Gidan-Zana, Kpenya Village, during Juma’at prayers.
The attackers stormed the mosque at about 2pm on August 21 and abducted worshippers, including children, women, and elderly people.
It was also gathered that the village head of Ka’ada, who had recently been released from the attackers’ den, and the 90-year-old father of the District Head of Dekara were among those abducted.
The Niger State Police Command initially stated that an undefined number of persons were kidnapped and that some inhabitants fled into a nearby forest.
At the time, the police also stated that no one had died in the mosque attack and that a joint security unit had been sent in to conduct assessments and rescue efforts.
However, following reports revealed that the violence spread beyond the mosque and impacted other towns in the Dekara area.
