Federal Govt refutes abduction of 60 girls in Borno

Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr Mike Omeri has refuted claims of the abduction of over 60 girls in Damboa, Borno state over the weekend.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Mr Omeri also disclosed that 144 out of the 486 persons intercepted in Abia State have been released while 342 others are still been interrogated.

He said that information gathered from the suspects reveals that they were mobilised to travel to Port Harcourt to carry out an assignment yet to be ascertained.

At least 60 girls were said to have been abducted in a Borno village by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.

The abduction, reportedly took place in a village called Kummabza, a farming community not more than 25km away from Lassa town in Askira-Uba local government area of Borno State.

But the fresh abduction, which was said to have been carried out on Saturday, was not made public until Monday when members of the local vigilante broke the news to journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

Meanwhile, the Borno state Governor Kashim Shettima has directed the Chairman of Damboa Local Government Area urgently investigate the widely publicised case and report to him as soon as possible.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication, Isa Gusau said the governor is concerned that the widely reported case of abduction of 60 persons in the area requires serious investigation in order to obtain relevant and accurate information with a view to taking necessary measures.

The statement urged the chairman of the council to liaise with elders and leaders of the community with a view to authenticate the abduction.