Three Borno State officials were on Monday evening abducted by Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) in Mobbar Local Government of the state, Northeast Nigeria.
The officials were stopped by the insurgents at a checkpoint set up in Wakilti while they were travelling from Damasak, a town about 200km from the state capital, Maiduguri.
ISWAP had a few days ago, claimed responsibility for kidnapping a Nigerian policeman and a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force at a roadblock between Gubio and Damasak.
In September, ISWAP abducted five employees of Borno State Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, a local government worker and another civilian.
The victims were intercepted and abducted at a checkpoint along Damasak road in Borno State.
Between January and July 2, 2020, Mobbar area was attacked 36 different times. In May alone, 16 attacks were conducted by the insurgents.
In July, a United Nations humanitarian Air Service helicopter came under fire in Damasak, the helicopter was able to return to Maiduguri airbase shortly after the attack.
On July 18, 2019, six Action Against Hunger employees were abducted along Damasak road.
The captors killed one of their victims on September 25 of the same year and killed four others on December 13, 2019, while the only woman on the team, Grace Taku, remains in captivity.
Residents fled Damasak after Boko Haram insurgents captured the town in November 2014.
The town was freed in December 2016 by the military. Since then more than 3,000 Internally displaced persons have returned.
Since 2009, Boko Haram’s violence in the north-east and the Lake Chad region has led to the displacement of more than two million people.
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