30,000 Nigerians killed, 10,000 youths still under Boko Haram captivity – Ortom

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom State has revealed that about 10,000 Nigerian youths are still under the captivity of Boko Haram.

Ortom made the claimed during a virtual speech as Guest Lecturer at the 2021 Press Week/ Lecture, organized by the FCT Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Makurdi.According to him, the abducted youths who are made up of boys and girls are being indoctrinated into militant fundamentalism.

He said: “The terror franchise is responsible for killings, rape, public executions, bombings of public and private property, and places of worship, robbery and mass abductions.

“These include the abductions of the Chibok girls (2012); Damasak school children (2015) and the Dapchi girls (2018), including Leah Sharibu, who is still in custody.

“Reports indicate that Boko Haram is holding more than 10,000 boys and girls and continues to indoctrinate them into militant fundamentalism.

“The group was responsible for the bombing of the UN building in Abuja and has killed more than 30,000 people and displaced more than three million people.

“The North-East is still unstable and there does not seem to be any prospects of defeating Boko Haram soon.”