Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have called on the government to negotiate the release of more than 50 abducted residents in Borno State through a journalist they selected as mediator.

The development came as the Defence Headquarters assured Nigerians that the 42 pupils abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on May 15 had not been forgotten, saying troops were working to secure their safe release.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that 13 of the victims, including a seven-month-old baby and her mother, a pregnant woman with a three-year-old child, and a couple travelling together, were abducted while travelling from Biu to Maiduguri on April 15.

Others include recent graduates, students and two siblings who sat in the boot of the vehicle because they could not afford the transport fare.

The spokesperson for the families of the abducted victims, Hassan Yati, confirmed to our correspondent on Friday that the kidnappers had provided families with a proof-of-life photograph and voice notes.

According to him, the group demanded that the government open the path for negotiation through a journalist whose identity he withheld.

He said, “We received voice notes telling us they (victims) are alive and many in captivity more than the number we are asking. We learnt they are over 50 in numbers there.

“Government should reach out to them through a journalist mediator they have chosen with name I am withholding.”

Yati, however, noted that the families were willing to provide every necessary information received to the government.

“So, if the government reach out to us, we will link them up with the journalist and they can pick it from there,” he said.

When asked about other demands, Yati said the terrorist group was willing to further open up to the government.

“It doesn’t have to be ransom like the case of Oyo. The government has the cards,” he said.

Yati appealed to the Federal Government and the Borno State Government to act in the interest of families who had lived in agony since the abductions.

“The demand of the terrorists is simple. Let the government engage them through the mediator they chose already,” he added.

On July 23, families of the victims and others in captivity gathered at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre in Maiduguri to mark 100 days since the abduction and appealed to the government to expedite action for their release.

Meanwhile, there has been fresh concern over the welfare and survival of 78 Borno schoolchildren abducted in separate attacks on schools in Askira Uba Local Government Area of the state.

The concern also extends to the whereabouts of the children and their health amid the cholera outbreak in the state, even as the government reportedly has proof-of-life for some of them.

On May 16, Saturday PUNCH reported that 42 students and pupils were abducted after suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area.

Similarly, on June 29, suspected Boko Haram terrorists invaded Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira Uba Local Government Area, abducting 36 students and one teacher.

The two abductions brought the total number of missing children to 78.

Following the incidents, families, stakeholders and critics have continued to express concern over what they described as the negligence and silence of the Federal Government and the Borno State Government.

The Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in the state, Abubakar Suleiman, told Saturday PUNCH that the government should consistently update citizens on rescue efforts.

“For someone to be in captivity for more than two months, that is really horrific, and I aligned to the opinion that government is keeping the citizens in absolute darkness. We want the government to respond more quickly and provide clear update about the situation of the missing children,” he said.

Suleiman appealed to the government to intensify efforts to ensure that the children were rescued unharmed and returned to their classrooms.

“We also appeal to the government to ensure that every other citizen abducted, regardless of where they are, are reunited with their families,” he added.

One of the parents of the abducted pupils in Lassa, Emmanuel Keri, said they had yet to receive any information about the students.

“We have not heard anything since their abduction in Lassa,” he said, adding that the incident had caused families many sleepless nights.

“I am begging the government to release our children for us. We are not happy at all,” he added.

Another parent, who preferred not to be named, said families were dying in silence.

“You know in the North, as women, we have a culture of allowing men to champion issues like this and speak for us. But one thing I can tell you is that we are dying in silence. Every day, our minds are filled with assumptions. What is our offence? Is it a crime to send children to school?” she said.

Responding to enquiries on Friday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, assured Nigerians that the pupils had not been forgotten.

“They can never be forgotten. The military is doing everything possible to get them released and hopefully, it will soon happen.

“Operation HADIN KAI has put in place measures to ensure that they are released safely,” he said. (Saturday PUNCH)