Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly abducted the wife of a pastor and her three children in Damasak, Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.
The incident occurred near Kareto village along the Maiduguri-Damasak highway on Saturday afternoon, according to community sources.
Damasak, located about 156 kilometres from Maiduguri in Borno North Senatorial District, has repeatedly witnessed attacks linked to insurgent groups.
Sources said the victims were travelling in a commercial vehicle to Damasak, where the head of the family, Pastor Moses Guguma, serves as the resident pastor of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN).
A community source explained that the attackers stopped the vehicle and singled out the pastor’s wife and her three children.
“The terrorists intercepted the commercial vehicle close to Kareto village, and asked the pastor’s wife, along with her 3 children to disembark.”
“They allowed other passengers to proceed the journey and vanished into the bush with the pastors family,” said the source who pleaded anonymity.
The source further disclosed that the pastor’s wife, whose identity was withheld, had only recently been discharged from a hospital in Maiduguri and was still recuperating at the time of the abduction.
As of the time of filing this report, the whereabouts of the woman and her children remained unknown.
Security agencies had yet to issue an official statement on the incident, while there was also no indication that the abductors had made any contact or presented any demands.
Another source close to the family, who also requested anonymity, alleged that the victims were deliberately targeted because of their Christian faith.
“As at now, we are holding a special prayer to God for the safe return of the victims,” he said.
