Although it confirmed the latest attack on Gumsuri village in Borno State by Boko Haram militants, the Nigerian military strangely said it is verifying reports of mass abduction of women and girls in the village.

According to a posting on the Defence Headquarters website on Friday, the reported abductions had yet to be verified from any credible source in the community.

Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Defence spokesperson

It said reports, mainly from foreign sources, gave conflicting number of persons seized by the terrorists, adding that while some put the figure at 100, others gave as high as 200.

“While some claimed that it (incident) happened on Sunday, others said the raid was conducted on Wednesday.

It, however, said troops were patrolling the general area of Gumsuri in search of terrorists who were said to have carried out the attack.

The statement said that the troops were ordered to sustain the patrol to ensure that terrorists did not have “freedom of action’’ in the area while the counter-terrorism campaign continued.

“Some of the villagers who fled during the attack have started returning to the village.

“Normal life has also returned to the area. The surveillance and patrol of the area by air and land forces have been stepped up to secure the general area,’’ the statement said