No fewer than 20 captives out of the 80 people that were reportedly kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect members in Cameroon at the weekend have regained their freedom.
This was made known to the BBC on Monday by the Cameroon Defence Ministry who revealed that the hostages were freed “as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria”.
The defence ministry said the abductions took place in the villages of Maki and Mada near the city of Mokolo in Cameroon’s Far North region, adding that most of the hostages taken during the cross-border raid were women and children.
Cameroonian police and officials said the abduction is one of the biggest by the extremists outside Nigeria, adding that the Boko Haram militants arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning when it was still dark.
The country’s security source said the assailants burned dozens of homes to the ground, but he could not give a detailed account of how the hostages who are now free managed to break loose from the sect members.
Cameroon reportedly has not given details about its military operation and there has been no word from those freed or from the Boko Haram sect members.
The abductions raised fears that the terrorist group was expanding its attacks, especially as the sect had taken control of towns and villages in the northeastern part of Nigeria.
The Islamist sect is reportedly threatening neighbouring countries like Chad, which recently sent soldiers to Cameroon to help repel the terrorist group.
Ghana’s President John Mahama has called on African leaders to discuss plans this week to ‘deal permanently’ with Boko Haram, and went on to suggest that a multinational force be considered.
Niger and Cameroon have criticised the Nigerian government for not doing more to end the Boko Haram insurgency which is ravaging parts of the nation, while politicians appear more focused on campaigning for next month’s elections paying little attention to the insecurity troubling the country.
Boko Haram in a recent attack in Zamfara State reportedly killed more than 100 members of a vigilante group, while it reportedly kidnapped around 80 people in Cameroon on Sunday, January 18, 2015.
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