Suspected Boko Haram militants have forced 40 boys and young men from Malari village, Borno state, into Sambisa forest, known as one of the sect’s strongholds.
AFP news agency said the abduction took place on New Year’s Eve and that the captives were aged between 10 years and 23 years.
The news of the abduction filtered out very late on Friday, when residents who fled the village arrived in the state capital Maiduguri.
“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,” Bulama Muhammad told AFP.
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“My two sons and three nephews were among those taken away by the Boko Haram gunmen and we believe they are going to use them as conscripts.”
Sensing that his village could be the next target, Alaramma Babagoni, a resident of Mulgwi, a nearby village to Malari, said he decided to flee.
“When we heard of the kidnap of 40 boys in Malari by Boko Haram we decided to leave because we could be the next target,” he said.
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The military is yet to comment on the incident.
The insurgents have recently suffered heavy causalities from security forces and are likely to add their new captives to its army of foot soldiers.
Boko Haram has unleashed mayhem in several communities across the country, particularly in the north-east.
More than 200 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Secondary School, Chibok in April are still in captivity.
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