Members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have reportedly abducted several teenage girls in the Askira-Uba area of Borno state.

Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Askira, Deputy Speaker of the Borno House of Assembly, confirmed the incident and said the victims were taken while working on farmland in Mussa district.

Askira, who represents the Askira-Uba constituency, said 13 girls aged between 15 and 20 had gone to harvest crops when they were seized.

He said Huyim and Mussa are farming communities but residents of Huyim were relocated to Mussa by the government because of security concerns.

He said the abducted girls were among those relocated and had engaged in communal farming to sustain themselves.

His words: “One of the victims managed to escape and had been reunited with her family on Sunday morning. 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 Ali Ndume arepresenting Borno south, also reacted to the news, urged security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the girls.

He also called on residents to pray for the victims and report suspicious movements of armed groups.

Nigeria has recorded several mass abductions in recent weeks, continuing a trend that began with Boko Haram’s 2014 attack on Chibok.