Villagers have blamed Boko Haram for the kidnapping of 40 boys and young men in north-eastern Nigeria on New Year’s Eve.
News of the kidnapping only emerged late on Friday after residents of Malari village in Borno state arrived in the state capital of Maiduguri, having fled the isolated region.
One villager told AFP,
"They came in pick-up trucks armed with guns and gathered all the men in the village outside the home of the village chief where they preached to us before singling out 40 of our boys and taking them away."
Nigeria’s military has not yet commented on the incident.
Earlier this week Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan vowed to defeat Boko Haram after a string of attacks in recent weeks. "I want to assure you that the terrorists will not get away with the atrocities, they will not win," said Jonathan."We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as Boko Haram. They will be defeated."