Boko Haram kidnap 22 girls, women in Borno

Boko Haram Islamists have abducted 22 girls and women
 in two separate raids in northeast Nigeria, residents and vigilantes told news men on Friday.

In the first attack on Thursday, the jihadists raided the 
village of Pulka near border with Cameroon where they kidnapped 18 girls.

“Boko Haram fighters from Mamman Nur camp arrived in
pickup vans around 6:00 am and seized 14 young girls aged
17 and below while residents fled into the bush,” a Pulka
community leader told ERICGOSSIP by phone.

“They picked four other girls who were fleeing the raid 
they came across in the bush outside the village,” said the
community leader who asked not to be named for fear of
reprisals.

According to the official, the attackers were loyal to the 
faction headed by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, the son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf.

Barnawi was appointed last year by the Islamic State group
 to replace leader Abubakar Shekau, who had pledged allegiance to the Middle East jihadist group in 2015.

Another resident confirmed the raid and said the girls were
likely to end up as brides for the fighters.

“They didn’t harm anyone during the raid and they made no
attempt to shoot people running away from the village,” said
the resident.

In the second incident outside the village of Dumba, close to
Lake Chad, the jihadists killed a herdsman who had tried to
escape after refusing to pay protection money, said Adamu
Ahmed, a member of an anti-Boko Haram militia.

“When the Boko Haram gunmen came for the money they
realised he had left with everything and they decided to go
after him on their motorcycles,” Ahmed said.

“They caught up with him near Dumba where they
 slaughtered him and shot dead 50 of his cattle.
“They took four women from the man’s family and the rest 
of the herd,” he said.

The promotion of Barnawi had revealed divisions in the group,
as Shekau had been criticised for mass killings and suicide
attacks against civilians.

Barnawi and his right-hand man Mamman Nur, who is seen 
as the real leader, had promised residents in areas under their
control would not be harmed as long as they did not
cooperate with Nigerian troops fighting Boko Haram.

But in recent weeks the Islamist fighters have intensified
 raids in areas near Lake Chad, stealing food from residents.

They have also killed several civilians they accused of
cooperating with the military.