Muhibbat Abass, a student at Akram’s College of Health Science and Technology in Niger State, has said 14 members of her family were among the over 500 worshippers abducted when terrorists attacked four Juma’at mosques in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.

In a report on Sunday, Muhibbat said those abducted included her father, aged grandfather, siblings and other relatives.

She said she had stopped schooling since the incident because of the trauma and lack of financial support.

The terrorists attacked Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida and Gidan-Zana communities on August 21 while worshippers were observing Juma’at prayers.

Two days later, the terrorists released a video claiming to have abducted 500 worshippers, including women and children.

The cries of children could be heard in the video as the narrator asked victims’ relatives to identify their fathers, mothers, siblings and children.

Families later authenticated the video after identifying their relatives among those shown.

The affected communities subsequently released the names of 547 worshippers allegedly abducted during the attacks, contradicting the figure given by Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.

Bago had described reports of more than 500 abductees as “social media hype”.

“33 were kidnapped at the mosque, and on their way, they kidnapped an additional 30 in a market, making a total of 63. So far, three of those kidnapped were killed and 14 recovered from them,” the governor said while receiving his predecessor, Abubakar Sani Bello, at the Government House.

The chairman of Borgu LGA, Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, also said the number of those abducted was “a little above 60”.

“From the record I have, those kidnapped were a little above 60. Those that were killed were close to 30,” he said.

But the affected communities rejected the figures and released a list containing the names of the abductees.

In the document, the Youth President of Dekara District, Zubairu Umar, said 547 community members were taken into the Kainji Lake National Park forest.

He said their whereabouts and condition remained unknown.

The governor’s comments also triggered a protest by residents last Monday.

Muhibbat identified the 14 members of her family in captivity as Abass Saleh, her father; Rasheedat Abass; Abubakar Sarkin Yamma; Hajarat Shehu; Lamrat Shehu; Jamiu Shehu; Maryam Idris; Adama Adamu; Rukayat Adamu; Hudu Adamu; Rahinat Ibrahim; Hindu Yahya; Barakat Ibrahim; and Swaibu Yahaya.

“We have been in a very difficult situation since the incident. Some people were slaughtered like goats. Our houses were burnt down. They stole our belongings, including cash and motorcycles. We lost virtually everything,” she said.

She said the abduction had also forced her and her younger brother to stop attending school.

“I am supposed to be in school now. My immediate younger brother is also supposed to be in school now. We are being sponsored by our father. He pays our school fees and buys food for us, but since the incident, we have stopped schooling because of the trauma, and there is nobody to help us. We are at home now.

“We are appealing to the federal and Niger State governments to rescue our people. While our loved ones are in the forest, we are in trauma because we don’t know their condition,” she said.

Another resident, Abdulkadir Idris said his father, Idris Bani Yakubu, was among the worshippers abducted from the Dekara mosque during Juma’at prayer.

Idris said he later saw his father in the video released by the terrorists showing some of the kidnapped victims.

“My father was among those kidnapped from the mosque. He is number 85 in the list of names earlier shared. I saw my father in the video of the kidnapped victims the terrorists released days after the incident. My mother’s younger brother and his pregnant wife are also in that video.

“I live in the same house with my father because I am the only male child. So, in my house, my father was taken during Jumaat prayers.

“From my maternal family house, four people were slaughtered. From my paternal family house, six people were slaughtered. At Gbezhin, my father’s younger brother, his wife and his children were among those kidnapped. My father’s younger sister was also kidnapped.

“During the attack, they stole our belongings, including cash some people kept in their rooms”, he said.

Idris registered that after the abduction, 39 people were slaughtered, with their bodies later recovered and buried.

He added that eight other bodies were subsequently discovered, but their identities could not be established because the remains had already decomposed.

According to him, the bodies were evacuated and buried despite the difficulty in identifying the victims.

Idris appealed to the government to intensify efforts to secure the release of those still being held.