(DDM) – Security concerns have intensified in Borno State after suspected fighters of the Islamic State West African Province kidnapped thirteen teenage girls from farmlands in the Askira-Uba axis.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the incident unfolded in the Mussa district, a community considered relatively peaceful compared to other volatile areas in the region.
The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the abductions on Sunday.
He explained that the girls, aged between fifteen and twenty years, were harvesting crops when the attackers stormed the farms.
He said the victims were among residents earlier relocated from Huyim to Mussa following persistent security threats in the former settlement.
He noted that both communities are predominantly farming areas, but government intervention had moved people to Mussa to reduce exposure to terrorist activities.
He revealed that one of the abducted teenagers escaped and returned to her relatives early Sunday morning.
He stressed that twelve others remained missing, with their location unknown and their safety uncertain.
He lamented that the recurring abductions continue to cripple the social and economic life of rural communities across southern Borno.
He added that parents and community leaders were in distress as families waited anxiously for updates from security operatives.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, condemned the abduction and urged security agencies to intensify rescue operations.
He appealed to residents to remain vigilant and to promptly alert authorities about suspicious movements near farmlands, bushes, and abandoned paths within the area.
He emphasised that the growing wave of kidnappings requires urgent national attention as children, worshippers, farmers, and students are increasingly becoming victims.
He recalled that Nigeria has battled mass abductions for more than a decade, beginning with Boko Haram’s displacement of schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
He warned that communities already struggling with displacement and poverty are now confronted with a renewed cycle of insecurity.
Recent national events point to a disturbing escalation in coordinated attacks across multiple states.
On November 21, more than three hundred students and twelve teachers were seized from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State in what authorities described as one of the worst kidnappings in the country’s history.
Initial reports put the figure at two hundred and fifteen, but security agencies later confirmed higher numbers after reconciling attendance records.
Just days earlier, twenty-five students were abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, Danko in Kebbi State.
Similarly, on November 18, thirty-eight worshippers were kidnapped from Christ Apostolic Church Oke Isegun, Eruku in Kwara State during an evening service violently interrupted by gunmen.
Several people were killed in the Kwara attack, including the presiding pastor.
Security analysts warn that the pattern of attacks suggests a widening geographical spread by different terror groups.
They argue that insufficient intelligence gathering, understaffed rural security posts, and delayed rapid response systems continue to embolden criminal networks.
They also warn that the agricultural sector, already weakened by climate pressures and economic challenges, may collapse in several northern communities if farmers no longer feel safe working in open fields.
Residents of Askira-Uba now fear that the latest ISWAP abduction signals another dark chapter for the region.
They plead for decisive government intervention to protect rural populations who depend on farming for survival.