Barely 24 hours after the execution of four aid workers engaged by the Action Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization working in North East Nigeria, the Islamic State West Africa Province, (ISWAP) has released a video of Nigerians abducted within the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway just last November. The captives are 13 in number and the video shows them identifying themselves in front of the capture camera.

The captives comprise Nigerians, Muslims and Christians, who were ambushed as they commuted along the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway. They include Bitrus Zakka Bwala, a principal lecturer with the College of Education, Gashua in Yobe state, Muktar Adam who works with the Federal University of Wukari, Taraba state. Among the captives is one female whose face, the group screened off in the video. The terrorist group claims the female captive was in the convoy of soldiers ambushed in Mainok, close to Maiduguri. She is attired in a patch of military fatigue but denies being a member of the Military, said the group.

Zakka who was the first to speak, appeals to the Federal Government of Nigeria as well as the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) to intervene and rescue them from an uncertain fate. “I was on my way to my station when I was abducted. I appeal to the Federal Government, as you can see here (there are various Christians among those) abducted at various points. When we came we saw some workers here particularly the ones with the Action Against Hunger before they were executed. We saw that government has not done enough and that is why Leah Sharibu is still here. We therefore appeal in particular to President Muhammadu Buhari to do whatever is within his reach to rescue us. We equally appeal to our various governors to come to our aid and rescue us. The leadership of Christian organizations, we appeal to you to liaise with the Federal government and push for the rescue of all captives here.”

One of the captives, Bashir from Plateau state also spoke in similar vein, pleading for the intervention of authorities. The last to speak among the captives, Adam, appealed to the Federal Government and Governor Baba Gana Zulum of Borno state to do all within their powers to rescue them as they had done in the past in rescuing several other Nigerians.


By Ahmad Salkida