Bring our loved ones home, abductees’ families beg Tinubu

Families of 13 travelers, including women, children, and National Youth Service Corps members, have made a heartfelt plea to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum to secure the release of their relatives. The group was abducted on April 15, 2026, while traveling from Biu to Maiduguri, and has now been in captivity for 60 days.

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Today, we address you with hearts weighed down by pain, fear and uncertainty over the abduction of 13 travellers who left Biu for Maiduguri on April 15, 2026, but never reached their destination after their vehicles were ambushed by suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram insurgents along the Biu-Buratai-Kamuya road.

Hassan Yati, the spokesperson for the coalition of families, addressed the press in Maiduguri on Saturday, expressing the deep pain, fear, and uncertainty that have gripped them. He noted that their loved ones disappeared after their vehicles were ambushed by suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram insurgents along the Biu-Buratai-Kamuya road.

While commending the government's recent success in rescuing 360 abducted individuals from the Ngoshe community and 11 fisherwomen from Askira Uba, Yati emphasized that their own joy remains incomplete. "Our joy remains incomplete because our loved ones are still in captivity," he stated, highlighting the ongoing anguish.

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While we rejoice over the recent rescue of 360 abducted women, children and men from Ngoshe, as well as the release of 11 abducted fisherwomen from Askira Uba, our joy remains incomplete because our loved ones are still in captivity.

Yati described the harrowing experience of the past two months, marked by unanswered questions and sleepless nights. He recounted how two overloaded station wagon vehicles carrying innocent passengers were stopped by armed insurgents and driven into the bush to an unknown destination. Among the abducted are a mother with her infant, young graduates, and a married couple, all of whom were embarking on what should have been a short journey.

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Today marks exactly 60 painful days since they disappeared. Sixty days of unanswered questions, sixty days of sleepless nights, sixty days of children waiting at the door for parents who never returned home.

The families are urgently appealing for swift government action, drawing hope from recent successful rescue operations. They believe their loved ones can also be brought home alive and are imploring the President, Governor Zulum, the National Security Adviser, and other officials to expedite efforts for their safe return.

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Those successes have reminded us that rescue is possible and that our loved ones, too, can still come home alive.