Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have abducted the Vice Chairman and two councillors of Biu Local Government Area along the Kamuya–Buni/Yadi axis linking Borno and Yobe states.
The abducted officials include Alhaji Saidu, Vice Chairman of Biu Local Council, and two councillors representing Zarawuyaku and Miringa wards. The victims were elected during last Saturday’s local government elections.
A security source in Maiduguri confirmed the incident on Thursday, revealing that the attack occurred on Wednesday along the Damaturu–Biu highway, a route frequently targeted by insurgents.
According to the source, the council officials were travelling from Biu, the council headquarters, to Maiduguri when they were intercepted and abducted. The source added that an unspecified number of civilians were also kidnapped the same evening while travelling in a Hisbah bus from Potiskum to Biu.
It was further disclosed that one of the kidnapped councillors previously served as Vice Chairman of Biu Local Government.
An anonymous community leader from Miringa appealed to the Borno State Government, the military, and other security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue more than a dozen people believed to have been taken to the Sambisa Forest.
The Buni/Yadi–Miringa corridor has remained a major security flashpoint for several years, with repeated incidents of abductions and killings attributed to Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Separate Suicide Attack Kills Soldiers
In a related development, a suicide bomber attacked a military position near Firgi, close to Pulka in Borno State, near the Cameroon border, killing at least five soldiers, according to security and local defence sources.
Residents reported that the attacker attempted to breach the military base on Sunday before being shot by troops.
The injured soldiers were later confirmed dead at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).
The military confirmed the attack but did not officially state the number of casualties.
Militant attacks on military positions in Nigeria’s northeast have intensified in recent months despite sustained counter-insurgency operations.
