The 11 girls were reportedly seized in Warabe and Wala by Boko Haram

The 11 girls were reportedly seized  in Warabe and Wala when gunmen invaded the communities.

Warabe is about 160 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital.

The community is located on the outskirts of Gwoza town, which had witnessed a series of deadly attacks by suspected terrorists in recent times.

Police sources and residents confirmed the kidnapping of the girls, said to be aged between 12 and 15.

A resident of Warabe, who said he had since relocated to Gwoza, Ishaku Bremcha, said through the phone on Tuesday, “There was a twin ambush by gunmen last night along Guduf-Gava route of Gwoza Hills. The gunmen came through the settlements of Hwa’a, Chikedeh, and Guduf-Wala hills down to Wala Kasa, and proceeded to Dure village, west of Gwoza town with 11 abducted teenagers into Sambisa Forest last night.

“The abductors did not inflict injury or kill any of us in Warabe and Wala, but took away 11 of our young daughters into the forest, after warning us not to report the kidnappings.”

The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Tanko Lawal, could not be reached for confirmation because GSM lines to Maiduguri were inaccessible.

 But a top police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said some armed hoodlums attacked two villages in the Gwoza council area “and abducted about a dozen teenagers.”

A resident of Warabe, Mallam Bello Umar, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri,  said, “A group of terrorists invaded Warabe village on Sunday night, abducted 11 of our teenage girls and carted them away with our foodstuffs and livestock.

“As I am talking to you now, I have run to Gwoza Council headquarters, and even in Gwoza, we cannot move around easily due to the fear of the terrorists.

“The situation is so pathetic that almost everyone in Gwoza congregates at a safer zone close to the council secretariat where there is enough presence of security personnel.”

Umar said the gunmen, numbering over 20 and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the village but that they did not kill anybody.

“They simply abducted the 11 teenage girls before fleeing towards the hilly border areas between Gwoza and Cameroon Republic,” he added.

Reuters also quoted another resident of Warabe, Lazarus Musa, as saying on Tuesday that gunmen invaded the village and abducted the girls.

“They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour. They started shooting in our village,” Musa reportedly said.

A police source, who could not be named, also said the Warabe girls were taken away in trucks, along with looted livestock and food.