Suspected members of the deadly Boko Haram were said to have abducted 91females made up of young girls and women as well as 31 boys from Kummabza village, 150 kilometers from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.

According to eye witnesses, the abductions took place on Saturday in an attack in which four villagers were killed.

Security forces have however denied the kidnappings even as Nigeria’s government and military are still contending with widespread criticism that they are yet to retrieve the over 200 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state, abducted by Boko Haram over two months ago.

A Kummabza resident and member of one of the vigilante groups that have had some success in repelling Boko Haram attacks with primitive weapons, Aji Khalil confirmed the abduction of a new set of 91 females and 31 boys.

This is even as a senior local councilor from the village’s Damboa local government said that the there was truth in the latest abductions but that he was not authorized to give information to reporters.

He said that the elderly survivors of the attack had walked some 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the relative safety of other villages.

The Damboa council secretary, Modu Mustapha, said he could not confirm or deny the abductions and directed a reporter to the council chairman, Alamin Mohammed, who did not answer phone calls or respond to text messages.

Boko Haram has been demanding the release of detained members in exchange for its hostages but President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not consider a swap.

A strategy to rescue the girls appears to have reached an impasse. Nigeria’s military has said it knows where they are but fears their abductors would kill them if any military action is taken. [myad]

A group known as Concerned Realists of Southern Kaduna has come out with a verdict that both the Kaduna and Nigeria federal governments have failed woefully in arresting the spate of insecurity in Kaduna in particular and Nigeria in general.

The group said: “we wish to tell the world that there is monumental failure in handling security issues in Southern Kaduna by Federal and Kaduna governments and security agencies, and we make bold to state that government of the state itself is inciting crisis like we saw in Chawai Chiefdom where two persons lost their lives at the weekend, following forceful appointment of a traditional ruler by Kaduna state government while a case is pending in court.”

The leader of the group, John Danfulani, in a statement today announced an attack, hours ago, by unknown gunmen, killing over 40 helpless citizens in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State, even as he called for the imposition of emergency rule in Southern Kaduna, of which Sanga is a part.

“We received the sad news of the latest massacre of helpless citizens in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State with impunity by unknown gunmen in possession of sophisticated weapons.

“As we write, over 40 dead bodies have been taken and registered in a mortuaries located in the local government, while search for more dead bodies intensify. Aside these, unspecified number of our kith and kin have sustained serious injuries in the said ferocious attacks that occurred in the wee hours of Monday to Tuesday morning.

“Similarly, four persons, incidentally couples were killed on Sunday in two locations before Tuesday massacre. The spokesman to the governor, Ahmed Maiyaki as reported in The Punch of today (24th June, 2014) denied as falsehood, saying, “Nobody was killed and everything is peaceful and calm in the areas mentioned.”

“The politicization of the crisis in Jere Chiefdom by the state government and some powerful forces is also another point we cannot forget in a hurry and as such the denial did not come to us as surprise because that is the trade, the reality is, the killings occurred and records are there with security agencies.

“It is on all these that we make the following demands:

·We refused to be intimidated or harassed in expressing reality of Southern Kaduna excruciating predicaments and failure of government and security agencies. No amount of force or blackmail can suppress our views.

·The security situation in Southern Kaduna is giving less attention and concern, while it is degenerating and human lives greatly being wasted with impunity

“We are reiterating our stand that Southern Kaduna security crises deserves State of Emergency because terrorists are carrying out gradual and systematic genocide in our community

“It is of utmost important because of Southern Kaduna sensitivity and central nature sharing borders with Nasarawa, Bauchi, Plateau, and Niger states and the Federal Capital Territory

“Again, the insecurity ravaging Southern Kaduna region ought to be separated with politics and vested interests, instead must be handled with utmost sincerity, justice and honesty contrary to what we are presently witnessing.

“It is clear; there is absolute failure of governance and security. Kaduna State is in mess and sheer confusion and lack of direction.” [myad]

Suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram have just struck at the Kano School of Health Technology along Gidan Murtala-Bayero University Road.

Sources said that a high calibre improvised explosive device went off at about about 2pm when students were already in the classes receiving lectures.

No official reports have come at the time of reporting the incidence, but unconfirmed sources hinted that many students and teachers lost their lives in the explosion.

Detail later. [myad]