The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum and parents of a teenage girl in Borno State, Aisha Muhammad, recently kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, have appealed to the military to expedite efforts for her release from captivity.
The terrorists abducted the girl last Saturday during an attack on Kirawa community, killing scores of soldiers and displacing many residents.
Narrating how the abduction happened, Chairman of the Kirawa Development Association, Yakubu Kirawa, said the attackers set houses, shops, and vehicles ablaze.
He said, “On Saturday, around 9:30 pm, Boko Haram went to the town. So, while in the town, they exchange fire with the Multi-Joint Task Force there. After the attack, they adopted a girl, her name is Aisha Muhammad Aja, and they burnt houses, vehicles, and shops.
“Around 1 am, they left the town, and our people fled to Cameroon. Later on, they (residents) came back again, while some slept there. Presently, the situation is a bit calm, and most of the people have come back to the town and resumed their normal business.”
Recall that Leah Sharibu, a 14-year-old student of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, has remained in Boko Haram captivity since February 19, 2018, when she and 108 other students were kidnapped.
Even though most of the girls were freed about a month later, Leah was kept for refusing to renounce her Christian faith and several efforts made by the military to secure her release had yielded no result.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Aisha’s mother, Amina Bukar, appealed to the authorities to prevent her daughter’s case from becoming another tragedy like Sharibu’s.
She said that since Saturday, when the teenager was kidnapped, she and her husband had wept day and night, agonising over her continued captivity.
Bukar added that before her abduction, Aisha had just completed her junior secondary education and was the only hope of the family.
“I am the mother of Aisha Muhammad Aja, the girl that was abducted. I am appealing to relevant agencies to help me look for my daughter. She is my only surviving hope,” the woman lamented.
“I want them to return my daughter please (in tears),” she broke down, declining her ability to talk further.
Also, Mohammed Aja, Aisha’s father, pleaded with the government for immediate action.
“I am pleading with the Nigerian government to rescue my daughter,” he said.
Confirming Aisha’s intellectual prowess, her former class teacher, Buba Aji, described her as a well-behaved and reserved student with a passion for learning.
“She was our student before and recently wrote her Junior Secondary school exam. A well-behaved and reserved student who you will always see her willingness to further her education,” he said.
While narrating the incident, Aji said, “We were at home when we started hearing sporadic shootings in the community. As the shooting continued, those residing near JTF camps around General Hospital Kirawa began to evacuate from that area to our own area. And after that, we all ran towards the river bank bordering Nigeria to take refuge close to an immigration office there.
“As the shooting continued, thanks to the Military from Cameroon, they had a stamp on their cloth inscribed BIR, they entered and helped the JTF under attack in Kirawa. It was during the attack that many soldiers later ran away before the insurgents were able to get the girl, Aisha Muhammad Aja in her home.
He continued, “From there, as they continue to proceed, they enter the house of our Lawan (district head) and burn down his house, enter a shop immediately after the Lawan house, burn down the shop. They continue to shoot from 9pm to 12am non-stop.”
Another resident, Mudi Shettima, said that since the attack, only the youths and civilian JTF remained in Kirawa until residents began returning in small numbers.
“We want peace in our community and a return of the kidnapped girl. The government should please assist us,” he pleaded.
Reacting to the incident, National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima, condemned the abduction and called for decisive action by the authorities.
“I knew there was an attack by some terrorist groups in Borno last week. The Nigerian military needs to do the needful. And the government must give them exactly what they need to perform better because injury to one must be seen as injury to all.
“For the young lady who has now spent seven days with the terrorists, let the troops go all out to make sure they bring her back to unite her with her family. This must not be allowed to continue,” Shettima said.
He stressed that efforts should also be made to rescue all other persons currently being detained by the terrorists, including the schoolgirl.
“The government must be more decisive and serious, and the military can improve to ensure that, not only her, but other people kept in captivity are rescued as soon as possible so they can reunite with their families,” he said.
