{"id":53364,"date":"2025-03-10T12:20:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T11:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=53364"},"modified":"2025-03-10T12:20:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T11:20:29","slug":"abducted-professor-and-29-others-still-being-held-captive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/abducted-professor-and-29-others-still-being-held-captive\/","title":{"rendered":"Abducted professor and 29 others still being held captive"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been no word of a Nigerian Army University Biu professor and 29 others who were abducted by insurgents more than a week ago in an attack on the <\/strong>Damaturu-Biu road.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Army University professor is one of 30 people still being held captive by insurgents after they were abducted on Sunday, March 2, on the Damaturu-Biu road near Kamuya village in Nigeria\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n

The insurgents, thought to be members of the Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, stopped two Golf cars and a Borno Express bus and abducted the occupants.<\/p>\n

Professor Abubakar Eljuma, the dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the Nigerian Army University Biu (NAUB), was among 30 people abducted.<\/p>\n

The insurgents reportedly freed the women travellers and the bus driver. All the men, including Eljuma, were taken captive.<\/p>\n

It is not known whether the insurgents have demanded a ransom and, if so, how much.<\/p>\n

30 people taken away in two vehicles<\/strong><\/p>\n

A commercial driver, who travels from Maiduguri to Biu regularly, told Ndarason: \u201cThe insurgents took away the passengers \u2013 including all their valuables \u2013 in two vehicles. At least 30 people were abducted. The insurgents set fire to some of the vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candidates for vice-chancellor position<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eljuma was reportedly among 30 candidates who had applied for the position of vice-chancellor at the Nigerian Army University Biu. He is said to be one of the top contenders for the position.<\/p>\n

Sources at the university confirmed the abduction and said an official statement would be released.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are requesting your prayers in this holy month of Ramadan for their quick release,\u201d a source said.<\/p>\n

A university official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Ndarason that the professor was returning from a family visit to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, when the abduction took place.<\/p>\n

Recurrent attacks in the Kamuya area<\/strong><\/p>\n

The abduction occurred near Kamuya village, along the axis of Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.<\/p>\n

Villagers said the area had experienced multiple attacks over the years, including abductions, improvised explosive device (IED) bombings and killings.<\/p>\n

The driver emphasised the need to beef up security surveillance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the first time drivers and their passengers have been abducted or attacked. There have been numerous encounters with insurgents in the same location.\u201d<\/p>\n

Permanent security presence needed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The driver said that in the past, there had been a security checkpoint on the axis, but it was withdrawn when the security situation improved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is definitely time to redeploy security personnel on a permanent basis in the area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately after the abduction, the government increased the security presence but it is not clear how long this will last. What is needed is a permanent security presence on the axis to ensure smooth transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear and caution among travellers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the increased security presence, commuters said they were afraid to travel on the Damaturu-Biu road because of frequent attacks by insurgents.<\/p>\n

A passenger from the Biu Local Government Area, who arrived in Maiduguri on Wednesday, March 5, said: \u201cThe latest abduction has renewed our fear of travelling on the road. I know of several passengers who have postponed or cancelled their trips because they are so fearful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A similar incident occurred on June 24 last year when the insurgents \u2013 also thought to be JAS fighters \u2013 abducted a Borno State high court judge, his wife and his driver on the same axis. They were released on September 8 after paying a hefty ransom.<\/p>\n

Judge Haruna Mshelia was kidnapped while travelling from Biu town to Maiduguri. A police orderly was killed in the attack, which occurred between Buratai and Gujba villages.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There has been no word of a Nigerian Army University Biu professor and 29 others who were abducted by insurgents more than a week ago in an attack on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":53211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-peace-and-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53365,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53364\/revisions\/53365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}