We abducted 6 Nigerian aid workers, Islamic State admits

Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) has claimed responsibility for kidnapping six aid workers in northeast Nigeria, Reuters reported on Friday.

International aid agency, Action Against Hunger, said a staff member and five others kidnapped in Borno State last week had appeared in a video released on Wednesday evening and that they were “apparently in a good condition of health.”

ISWA, which split from Nigerian terrorist group, Boko Haram, in 2016, claimed responsibility for the kidnap in a tweet published by the SITE monitoring group.

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The group has carried out a number of attacks in the North East over the last few months, including on military bases. It killed a kidnapped aid worker nine months ago.

Action Against Hunger said in a statement that the people were abducted last week near the town of Damasak, where the insurgents were active.

“Action Against Hunger strongly requests that our staff member and her companions are released,” said the agency.

The video was published by The Cable, a Nigerian news organisation, and showed a woman sitting on the floor who identifies herself as “Grace”. Five men sit around her, some with their heads bowed. Behind them is a sheet with the logo of the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

“We were caught by this army called the Calipha. We don’t know where we are,” she says, before asking that the Nigerian government and Action Against Hunger secure their release.

Separately, the presidency said in a statement that the government was negotiating for the release of the kidnapped aid workers.

A source told Reuters that a driver was killed during the kidnap and that all six abductees were Nigerians.