Boko Haram militants are suspected of kidnapping 25 Nigerian girls during an attack in a rural town in the northern area of the country, even though they supposedly considered freeing the other 200 girls taken hostage in April, Reuters reported Thursday.
The kidnappers came late at night and forced the young women to go with them, releasing the older ones later. Dorathy Tizhe and John Kwaghe, both who lost daughters to the abductors, witnessed what happened.
This contradicts recent reports that the Nigerian government agreed on an interim ceasefire with Islamist rebels that would include the release the 200 schoolgirls they have in their possession.
"We are confused that hours after the so-called ceasefire agreement has been entered between the Federal Government and Boko Haram insurgents, our girls were abducted by the insurgents," Kwaghe said.
The government and a Boko Haram representative were talking about the release of the girls this week in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, but there is no sign of them being released yet, according to the BBC.
A bomb also exploded at a separate attack at a bus station in the town of Azare in northern Nigeria, wounding 12 people and killing at least five. Boko Haram is likely the main suspect in the attack, but police have not commented on who they are investigating.
"Five persons burned beyond recognition were certified dead, while 12 others sustained various degrees of injuries," Bauchi police spokesman Haruna Mohammed said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The rebels communicate only through jihadist videos narrated by a man named Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be Boko Haram's leader but hasn't mentioned the alleged ceasefire.
