Timeline of Boko Haram Women and Girls Abductions
April 2013 - September 2014
The abuses against women and girls documented in this report occurred against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the pace and intensity of Boko Haram's attacks against civilian targets since mid-2013, after the federal government imposed a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States.
Based on interviews with victims and witnesses and media reports available from open sources, Human Rights Watch has identified 20 incidents of abduction in the state of emergency states between April 2013 and September 2014. Cumulatively, over 500 women and girls have been reported abducted in these incidents.
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April 27, 2013
Three women and at least 10 men were abducted by insurgents near Kawuri Borno State but were soon released when the insurgents ran into a security road block.
May 1, 2013
Six Christian women were abducted and kept for two weeks within a hideout in Maiduguri and repeatedly raped.
May 7, 2013
12 people, four women and eight children abducted at a Police barracks during an attack on security establishments in Bama, Borno State.
May 9, 2013
Six young women and girls, students of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Konduga Borno State were abducted with three men near Bama and taken to Sambisa forest park.
May 15, 2013
One woman and several other travelers abducted at Firgi near Bama by insurgents and taken to Sambisa forest park.
July 20, 2013
One young woman was abducted by two insurgents at Barawa village, on Gwoza hills during an altercation with a female Boko Haram informant.
August 9, 2013
Unknown number of Christian women abducted from a private students' hostel in Maiduguri.
September 17, 2013
20 women were abducted when Boko Haram laid siege on the Maiduguri -Damaturu highway near the town of Benisheikh, killing more than 160 people.
September 28, 2013
Nine girls were abducted at Uvaha village, during Boko Haram attacks on several villages in Gwoza, Borno State. They were taken to camps on Gwoza hills.
November 1, 2013
Two women abducted by suspected Boko Haram sect members when they stopped a passenger vehicle near Benisheikh along Maiduguri, Damaturu highway.
December 11, 2013
Nine women traders abducted with twenty-seven other young men by suspected Boko Haram members at Bulabulin Ngara, Borno State.
December 20, 2013
18 people, wives and children of soldiers abducted in Bama, Borno State, during an attack on Nuhu Muhammed army barracks in the town.
February 12, 2014
25 women and girls (20 students, five street traders) abducted when gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists attacked Konduga town Borno State.
April 14, 2014
276 girls abducted at the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, following a violent attack in the town.
April 16, 2014
Six women and two children abducted at Wara town, Borno State while travelling from Gwoza to Biu for a wedding.
April 25, 2014
Five women abducted at Gujba, Yobe state during an attack on the town in which three civil servants were killed.
May 6, 2014
Eight girls, aged 12 to 15 were abducted at Warabe and Wala during an attack by armed men on the southern Borno villages. The girls were allegedly taken away on trucks, along with looted livestock and food.
June 5, 2014
20 women and three men were kidnapped in Garkin Fulani settlements, some 8 kilometers from Chibok, Borno State. Boko Haram allegedly demanded 800 cows as ransom for the women.
June 20, 2014
60 women, girls and infants, as well as 31 boys were abducted between by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram at Kummabza, Yaga and Dagu villages in Damboa, Borno.
September 13, 2014
50 women were abducted in Gulak, Adamawa State when insurgents stormed the town over the weekend. They were loaded onto trucks and driven away by the insurgents as attempts by the military to rescue them failed.