'We're under attack, pray for me', nurse abducted in Rann cries out in leaked audio

dimeji akinloye

March 4, 2018 4:51 PM

In the audio, the nurse was heard saying they were under attack before one of the terrorists asked her to shut up.

The nurse abducted when the

The victim, Hauwa Leman was said to have sent the audio to one of her male friends, telling him to inform her parents that she was in trouble and that they should pray for her.

Leman, 24, who spoke in Hausa in the unverified audio, was still speaking when a male voice believed to be one of the terrorists' was heard telling her to keep quiet and not to move an inch.

"We are under attack in Rann. They are shooting everywhere please pray for me; please go and tell my parents that I am in trouble.

"Please, look for Fatima and tell her they are taking us away. They have entered here now…", the victim, who was panting said.

[No available link text]

This was the last time anyone heard from Leman, a Health Education student at the University of Maiduguri.

Boko Haram attacks Rann

Last Thursday, the terrorists stormed Rann, a remote town in Kala Balge local government area of Borno, killing at least four soldiers, four policemen, and three humanitarian workers.

The insurgents were said to have abducted a yet-to-be ascertained number of people, including Leman.

Some media reports also claimed that the nurse was contracted by an international organisation to work in Rann for a period of three months.

Leman lied about her posting

According to a journalist friend of Leman, Abdulhameed Algarzali, she lied about her posting.

He said Leman visited him a night before the incident, and told him that she was going to spend two weeks in Gamboru-Ngala, headquarters of Ngala local government area of Borno.

ALSO READ: A timeline of terror group's attacks in 2017

So her family and friends thought she was working in Gamboru-Ngala.

Algarzali said, "It seems she did not disclose that she was posted to Rann… why she refused to do so is not clear.

"I did not believe the story at first because the Hauwa I met a day to her journey told me she was going to Gamboru Ngala for just two weeks.

"It is surprising therefore that this happened to her in Rann. I mean how did she get there?

"It's possible she did it deliberately to avoid causing unnecessary panic, considering the situation in Rann, or to avoid being stopped by her family. But another possibility is that her employer, an international humanitarian organisation providing medical assistance to over 40,000 displaced persons, misinformed her of the true posting."

Pulse reached out to Algarzali to confirm if it was indeed Leman's voice in the audio and to shed more light on the situation but he has not responded to our queries as at the time of filing this report.

United Nations reacts

Following the death of aid workers in the attack, the United Nations has since pulled all humanitarian staff out of Rann and aid activities have been temporarily suspended in the town.

dimeji akinloye