Thirteen teenage female farmers have been abducted by members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the incident, saying the girls were seized while working on farmlands in the Mussa District.
The attack comes less than a week after two major school abductions in Kebbi and Niger states — the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga in Danko Wasagu LGA of Kebbi, and St. Mary’s Secondary and Primary School, Papiri in Agwara LGA of Niger — where hundreds of students and staff were taken.
It also occurred shortly after gunmen attacked a church in Kwara State, killing two worshippers and abducting dozens.
These incidents highlight a sharp rise in mass abductions across northern Nigeria, rekindling memories of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping by Boko Haram, many of whom remain missing more than a decade later.
The surge in attacks has drawn international concern. Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened possible military action over what he described as the persecution of Christians by radical Islamist groups in Nigeria — a claim the Nigerian government has rejected, insisting the situation is far more complex.
Askira said the 13 abducted girls, aged between 15 and 20, had gone to harvest crops in the Mussa farming area when ISWAP fighters stormed the fields.
He explained that the victims were part of residents previously relocated from Huyim to the relatively safer community of Mussa due to persistent insecurity.
“One of the victims who managed to escape has been reunited with her family,” he said.
“But the other 12 victims, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20 years, are still in the custody of the abductors whose whereabouts remain unknown.”
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) condemned the abductions and urged security agencies to intensify rescue efforts.
He appealed to residents to remain vigilant, report suspicious movements, and continue praying for the safe return of the abducted girls.