A Boko Haram faction has agreed to release 50 women and children from over 400 abducted victims, but warns the process may be difficult due to their dispersion across remote locations.
A faction of Boko Haram, identified as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), has agreed to release 50 women and children from a group of 416 abducted victims following negotiations and mediation efforts by the Borno South Youth Alliance (BOSYA). The development marks a partial breakthrough in efforts to secure the freedom of those held by the insurgents.
However, the group warned that the process could be severely hindered, claiming that the captives have already been dispersed across distant locations. In a voice note obtained by SaharaReporters, a representative of the group, speaking in Hausa, said, “All of the women have been scattered, it will be hard to see two women in the same place.”
The representative added, “Before we can gather them is another work on its own. Since the ultimatum we gave them has elapsed, there is no talk again,” and further stated, “Before we can gather them in one place is a work. I don’t have time to gather them right now. Some of the women were taken far away, close to 200 kilometres.
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