by ISWAP in Borno Amid Terror Group Rivalry — Askira Uba Students Taken

A faction of Boko Haram known as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) has confirmed that fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) abducted more than 50 students from Mussa Askira School in Uba Local Government Area of Borno State as retaliation for a deadly attack launched against ISWAP by JAS insurgents. The incident was confirmed on Monday to SaharaReporters by the President of Borno South Youth Alliance (BOSYA), Samaila Ibrahim Kaigam. According to Kaigam, the abduction occurred after JAS fighters invaded and defeated ISWAP members in a recent confrontation, forcing ISWAP to later return on what he described as a “revenge mission.” Kaigam said the rival terror groups had engaged in intense clashes in recent days, with JAS allegedly overpowering ISWAP fighters before temporarily occupying their territory. He explained that after JAS fighters withdrew from the area, ISWAP returned to retaliate but failed to locate the Boko Haram faction members they intended to confront. Instead, the insurgents allegedly stormed the community and abducted schoolchildren. “So regarding these folks, the children that were kidnapped in Mussa Askira previously. So this evening I had a discussion with them, Boko Haram, that is their leaders this evening,” Kaigam told SaharaReporters. “We had a discussion, for starters, the discussion was about Goshe women and the children, so they asked us to send a list.” “There are some people that have been fighting for a possibility to see if they can release a few, which they agreed initially. So we are now sending, they asked us to send a list. They had a final meeting on it and they approved that we send a list of people they will be releasing.” “So we'll be sending the list of the people they will be releasing. I will see if they agree to me giving you people the list, I will forward it to you.” Kaigam further disclosed that discussions with the insurgents also focused on the abducted students, adding that the JAS faction denied responsibility for the kidnapping and instead blamed ISWAP. “So secondly, we had a discussion, I think, yesterday or the day before yesterday about the children kidnapped,” he said. “I told them on how they can release the children, they said they will get back to me on that because they just came back from whatever and they have a long discussions and meetings to cover.” “So this evening when we had the call, they confirmed to me that yes, they know of the children's kidnapping, but they were not the ones who kidnapped the children.” “ISWAP kidnapped the children, not them.” Kaigam explained that the abduction happened after Boko Haram fighters attacked ISWAP camps and reportedly succeeded in defeating their rivals. “So now the process at which the kidnapping happened was, Boko Haram went to attack ISWAP. So when they went to attack them, I think a few days ago, they succeeded, they conquered them,” he said. “So when they conquered them, they stayed at the place for like a day or two, which I can confirm because within those three days, I called them and I could not reach them.” “So meaning they were somewhere whereby their phones were off or something. So now, they confirmed to me that within that period, they went on a battle with ISWAP.” “So when they concluded, they won. When they won, they stayed there for a few days, then they saw the place was not the way they feel it's nice, so they left.” According to him, ISWAP fighters later returned to the territory seeking revenge but failed to locate the JAS fighters who had earlier attacked them. “So when they left, now, ISWAP came back for a revenge mission,” Kaigam said. “So when they came for a revenge mission, they came into Boko Haram's territory, which is that part of southern Boko Haram.” “So when they came in, they could not meet them to challenge them, to have any form of battle between them.” “So in that process, they kidnapped those children, then they went back to the territory with the children.” “So they came for a revenge mission that went wrong, rather than going back empty-handed, they something those children from their territory to make them feel, yes, we took something from your side.” Kaigam maintained that the abduction was not pre-planned and claimed there was no prior intelligence operation targeting the students. “So the kidnapping was not planned. There was nothing like an intel or anything. No,” he said “It's just like, we are coming, then we decided, fine, this is their territory, what can we pick, then they picked those kids and they left with them.” The BOSYA president also expressed fears that ISWAP may not demand ransom or publicly acknowledge the kidnapping, describing the terror group as unpredictable and dangerous. “But another thing we should all know is ISWAP is not always the type that when they kidnap, they bring it out to say we've kidnapped and we want ransom,” he said. “So far, there are people they have kidnapped, they have not come out to say they want ransom. They just kidnap, they just do it. Just like that. For nothing, for no reason.” “So that is one of the fears.” Kaigam disclosed that efforts were ongoing to establish contact with individuals linked to ISWAP in hopes of securing information about the abducted children and possibly obtaining proof that they are still alive. SaharaReporters previously reported that scores of pupils of Mussa Askira Primary School in Uba Local Government Area of Borno State were abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists. SaharaReporters gathered that the attack occurred at about 9am last week Friday when the insurgents stormed the school and whisked away several students without resistance. Sources familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters that despite the presence of military personnel and operational vehicles in the community before the attack, the soldiers allegedly fled into nearby mountains immediately the terrorists approached the area. According to the sources, the terrorists operated freely for several minutes and carted away the pupils without any confrontation from the Nigerian Army. One of the sources said residents were shocked that no gunshot was fired throughout the operation despite the reported heavy military presence in the community.