Three loggers have been found dead and at
least 40 more feared abducted by Boko Haram
fighters in northeastern Nigeria.
Sources and residents told AFP news agency on
Saturday that the loggers were rounded up by
the fighters on Thursday in Wulgo forest near
the town of Gamboru where they went to
collect firewood.
“A group of more than 40 loggers left Shehuri
on the outskirts of Gamboru on Thursday and
never returned by evening as usual,” said a
group leader Umar Kachalla, who was involved
in the search.
“On Friday, we mobilised men and went deep
into the forest where we recovered three bodies
identified to be among the loggers, without a
trace of their colleagues.”
The missing loggers were presumed kidnapped
by the group, who are known to maintain
camps in the forest, said Kachalla, a view
widely shared by other residents.
The fighters have increasingly targeted loggers
and farmers in the northeast, accusing them of
passing information to the military and local
armed groups.
‘Shot from behind’
“We believe the men were taken by Boko
Haram who have been attacking loggers in the
forest,” said Shehu Mada, leader of another
armed group.
“From all indication, the three dead loggers
were shot when they tried to escape as they all
were shot from behind.”
The area has been without telephone services
for years following the destruction of masts in
Boko Haram attacks, forcing residents to rely
on Cameroon’s mobile phone networks.
Gamboru loggers have suffered repeated Boko
Haram attacks and abductions, especially
around Wulgo forest.
In November 2018, Boko Haram seized some 50
loggers on their way to collect firewood in the
forest, after killing 49 loggers in two previous
attacks.
Babandi Abdullahi, a resident, said military
officials had warned loggers not to venture
deep into the forest to avoid the attacks.
People are compelled to take that risk because
nearby vegetation has been depleted by
constant logging, Abdullahi said.
According to the UN, Boko Haram and a
splinter group known as ISWAP have killed
36,000 people in the northeast and forced
roughly two million to flee since 2009.
Earlier this month, Boko Haram claimed
responsibility for the kidnapping of more than
300 schoolboys who were taken after an attack
on their school in Katsina’s Kankara village, in
northwest Nigeria. All the boys have since been
rescued.
