*Biu families plead for rescue of 13 abductees
From Uthman Abubakar Maiduguri
The rescue, Saturday, June 6, of 360 Boko Haram abductees in Borno State has triggered a plea for the rescue of 13 travellers abducted by Boko Haram terrorists along Biu-Damaturu-Maiduguri road, last April 15.
The families of the 13 abductees, who met their fate along Biu-Buratai-Kamuya-Damaturu road enroute Maiduguri where they were, at a point, waylaid and motorcycle-riding terrorists and herded far into the bush, stormed the Maiduguri Nigeria Union of Journalists secretariat, Saturday June 13, pleading with the government, security agencies and the Southern Borno political and community leaders to facilitate the release of their own.
“Today, we address you with hearts weighed down by pain, fear and uncertainty over the abduction of 13 travelers who left Biu for Maiduguri on April 15, 2026, but never reached their destination after their vehicles were ambushed by suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram insurgents,” Hassan Yati, spokesman for the families told newsmen almost tearfully.
“Today marks exactly 60 painful days since they disappeared.
Sixty days of unanswered questions;
Sixty days of sleepless nights;
Sixty days of children waiting at the door for parents who never returned home,” the traumatized families cried out.
“While we rejoice over the recent rescue of 360 abducted women, children and men from Ngoshe, as well as the rescue of 11 abducted fisherwomen from Askira Uba, our joy remains incomplete because our loved ones are still in captivity,” they said.
“Every passing day deepens the wounds in the hearts of families left behind,” Yati said, querying: “How does one explain to a six-year-old girl, Deborah Michael, that her father and mother coming to Maiduguri from Biu are yet to arrive even after two months? How does Baba Mustapha sleep at night knowing that his two sons, who squeezed themselves into a vehicle boot just to make the trip, have vanished without a trace?”
He queried further: “How does Mr. Musa Wakawa comfort himself after losing contact with his wife and daughter, whom he promised never to leave behind?”
The families pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, National security adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, Hon Midala Usman Balami, Hon Ahmed Usman Jaha, Barr. Daniel Bwala (Special Advisor to Mr. President on Policy Communication and Media), the Nigerian Army and all relevant security agencies not to forget the travelers abducted including many others abducted before this incident of 15th April,2026.
“We refuse to believe they have been forgotten,” they remarked. ENDS
