Five Aid Workers Rescued From Boko Haram's Captivity In Nigeria - Security Agency

Five Aid Workers Rescued From Boko Haram's Captivity in Nigeria - Security Agency

The Nigerian Department of State Services has rescued five aid workers who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants last month, the security agency's Public Relations Officer Peter Afunaya told The PUNCH newspaper on Thursday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) The Nigerian Department of State Services has rescued five aid workers who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants last month, the security agency's Public Relations Officer Peter Afunaya told The PUNCH newspaper on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the official confirmed the release of two women and three men, who had worked for international humanitarian organizations and were abducted by the Islamic group in Borno state in the country's northeast on December 22.

"They were today, January 15, 2020, rescued by the DSS in conjunction with other strategic stakeholders," Afunaya said, as quoted by the newspaper.

The official added that all the rescuees were in good health and "debriefed as appropriate."

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been leading violent warfare, which includes terror attacks and abductions, seeking to eliminate the Western system of education and establish Sharia law across Nigeria. In March 2015, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia), rebranding as Islamic State's West Africa Province. In return, the Multi-National Joint Task Force, currently comprising military units from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, regularly conduct airstrikes and field operations to combat the Boko Haram insurgency in the region.