Few days after they were kidnapped by Bokoharam assailants near Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, Maiduguri, forty-nine women have regained their freedom early on Friday.
Their release happened after a state official paid a ransom for their release, two of the victims confirmed.
The women were abducted on their farms on Tuesday morning in Shuwaei Kawuri village on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
“We were all released at midnight after Boko Haram said our families secured our release after meeting their demands,” one of the victims said.
A traditional leader said although the terrorists demanded a N3 million ransom, the women, who are mostly poor peasant farmers, were released after a state official paid N1 million to the assailants following negotiations to secure their freedom.
Police spokesperson Sani Kamilu Shatambaya is yet to make a briefing on the development.
In late July, the terrorists murdered at least 10 farmers in Borno, where authorities have, for over 10 years batttled an insurgency that has spilled into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The militants have been killing and abducting traders, residents, commuters and farmers in the mostly agrarian region, residents said, disrupting farming villages, which could lead to rise in food prices.
